...  •  ,  ''  >~.T- 

■■ .  •  :'"  ■ 


RKIiECCA  NURSE  MONUMENT,  DANVERS 


WITCHCRAFT 

IN 

SALEM  VILLAGE 

IN 

1692 


TOGETHER  WITH  SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  OTHER 
WITCHCRAFT  PROSECUTIONS  IN  NEW 
ENGLAND  AND  ELSEWHERE 


BY 

WINFIELD  S.  NEyiNS 

AUTHOR  “OLD  NAUMKEAG,”  “  THE^'nSrTH  SHORE/* 
“THE  INTERVALE/*  ETC. 


SALEM,  MASS. 

NORTH  SHORE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

BOSTON 

LEE  AND  SHEPARD 
1892 


‘i  \  Copyrighted,  1892, 

By  WINFIELD  S.  NEVINS. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


Salem  Observer  Press 
1  City  Hall  Avenue 

rlAY 


Qfjsiun  oOLLEGfc.  UHKmKT 

MAS«? 


,xj  TO 

>  3M,  K .  5K. 


•  % 


Contents. 


FAGB 

List  of  Illustrations,  ....  5 

Preface, .  6 

Chap.  I.  Salem  previous  to  1692,  .  9 

Chap.  II.  Early  Witchcraft  Cases,  22 

Chap.  III.  Outbreak  in  Salem  Village,  46 

Chap.  IV.  Court  and  Places  of  Trial,  70 

Chap.  V.  Martha  and  Giles  Corey,  .  97 

Chap.  VI.  Story  of  Rebecca  Nurse,  111 

Chap.  VII.  Rev.  George  Burroughs,  .  131 

Chap.  VIII.  Bridget  Bishop  and  the  Ja¬ 
cobs  Family,  .  .  148 

Chap.  IX.  The  Procters,  Willard,  Car¬ 
rier  and  How,  .  .  168 

Chap.  X.  Susanna  Martin,  Mary  Easty 

and  others,  .  .  .  190 

Chap.  XI.  Accused  and  Tried  but  not 

Executed,  .  .  .  210 

Chap.  XII.  A  Review,  .  .  .  236 

Appendix. 

A.  List  of  Persons  Accused,  .  .  .  254 

B.  Removal  of  Attainders  and  Recom¬ 

pense,  . 256 

C.  Gov.  Phips^  Explanatory  Letter,  .  257 

D.  The  Bury  St.  Edmunds  Case,  .  .  260 


List  of  Illustrations 


Rebecca  Nurse  Monument,  .  .  .  Frontispiece. 

Old  First  Church,  Salem . 13 

Gov.  Bradstreet  House,  Salem,  ....  42 

Parris  House,  Danvers, . 47 

Salem  Village  Church, . 63 

Gadge  House,  Danvers, . 66 

Sarah  Osburn  House,  Danvers,  ....  60 

Comer  of  Judge  Corwin  House, . 69 

Chief  Justice  Stoughton, . 71 

Judge  Samuel  Sewall, . 72 

Corwin  or  Roger  Williams  House .  76 

Site  of  1692  Court  House, . 78 

Cotton  Mather’s  Grave,  Boston,  ....  81 

Cotton  Mather, . 84 

Giles  Corey  Mill, . 97 

Howard  Street  Cemetery,  Salem,  ....  107 

Ann  Putnam  House,  Danvers,  ....  108 

Rebecca  Nurse  House,  Danvers, . 112 

Fac  Simile  Nurse  Examination,  ....  126-7 

Sarah  Houlten  House,  Danvers, . 130 

Gallows  Hill,  Salem,  .......  144 

Site  of  Bishop’s  Salem  House, . 148 

Trask  House,  North  Beverly, . 162 

Shattuck  House,  Salem, . 166 

Bishop  House,  North  Beverly,  ....  157 

Beadle  Tavern,  Salem, . 160 

Jabobs  Grave,  Danvers . 164 

Jacobs  House,  Danvers, . 166 

Procter  House,  Peabody, . 169 

Nathaniel  Felton  House, . 175 

Site  Beadle  Tavern,  Salem . 180 

Benjamin  Fuller  House,  Middleton,  ....  181 

Thomas  Fuller  House,  Middleton . 183 

Constable  John  Putnam  House, . 194 

Thomas  Haines  House, . 201 

Mary  Putnam  House,  Danvers, . 205 

Phillip  English  House,  Salem,  ....  216 

John  Putnam,  3d,  House,  Danvers,  ....  220 

Witch  Pins,  Salem  Court  House,  .  .  .  231 

Joseph  Putnam  House,  Danvers,  ....  237 


PREFACE. 


■Y  design  in  writing  this  book  has  been 
to  tell  the  story  of  the  witchcraft  de- 
lusion  ot  in  such  a  way  as  to 
convey  a  faithful  picture  to  the  reader.  In 
order  to  do  this  it  seemed  advisable  to  give 
some  account  of  the  settlement  of  Salem  and  the 
neighboring  villages,  and  their  growth  from  1626 
to  1692,  that  the  reader  might  understand  the 
character  of  the  people  who  lived  there  during 
the  period  covered  by  this  history.  Following 
this,  will  be  found  a  chapter  descriptive  of  the 
court  that  tried  the  accused  persons,  and  a  brief 
summary  of  its  several  sittings,  A  chapter  de¬ 
voted  to  some  account  of  earlier  witchcraft  cases, 
in  this  country  and  in  Europe,  seemed  also  ad¬ 
visable,  that  we  might  the  better  understand  that 
witchcraft  was  not  new  to  the  world  in  1692,  and 
that  Salem  Witchcraft,”  so-called,  differed  from 
other  witchcraft  only  in  the  details. 


PREFACE. 


7 


In  succeeding  chapters  I  have  dealt  with  each 
of  the  individuals  tried  and  executed,  according 
to  the  interest  in  the  case  or  the  fullness  of  the 
documentary  records  that  have  come  down  to  us. 
In  addition  to  these,  such  mention  is  made  of 
other  cases,  where  the  accused  were  not  exe¬ 
cuted,  as  the  circumstances  connected  with 
them  seemed  to  demand.  No  chronological  or¬ 
der  is  observed  in  this  portion  of  the  work. 
The  aim  has  been  in  giving  the  evidence,  to 
quote  the  exact  language  so  far  as  space  would 
permit,  otherwise  it  has  been  abridged  with 
strict  regard  to  conveying  the  true  meaning  of 
the  witness. 

I  make  no  claim  to  originality  of  material. 
Possibly  a  few  documents  and  a  few  facts  of 
interest  may  here  be  brought  within  the  range 
of  the  reading  public  for  the  first  time.  If 
my  view  of  the  witchcraft  delusion  of  1692  and 
the  responsibility  therefor,  differs  somewhat 
from  that  entertained  by  most  of  those  writers, 
I  believe  it  is  the  one  now  generally  accepted 
among  historical  students,  and  the  one  which 
the  judgment  of  the  future  will  pronounce  cor¬ 
rect.  The  mistake  which,  it  seems  to  me,  the 
majority  of  the  writers  on  this  chapter  of  our 
history  have  made,  is  that  they  did  not  put 
themselves  in  the  places  of  the  men  and  women 
of  1692,  but  judged  by  the  standard  of  the  lat¬ 
ter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  I  have 


8 


PREFACE. 


tried  to  avoid  this.  Whether  I  have  succeeded, 
the  verdict  of  the  reader  alone  will  tell. 

I  have  not  deemed  it  necessary  to  give  my 
authority  for  statements  made  when  that  author¬ 
ity  was  the  records  of  the  trials  now  on  file  in 
the  court  house  in  Salem.  In  all  other  cases 
where  important  statements  are  made  on  the 
authority  of  others,  the  reference  is  given.  In 
the  case  of  certain  publications,  like  CalePs 
**  More  Wonders,’^  and  Mather’s  “  Wonders  of 
the  Invisible  World,”  the  reference  is  usually  to 
some  recent  edition,  because  the  early  editions  of 
these  works  are  not  always  accessible. 


CHAPTER  I. 


PRJS^VIOUS  TO  1692, 


J^^ALEM  was  settled  by  the  Puritans.  Its 
settlement  was  a  natural  result  of  the  Ee- 
ftSw  formation  in  England.  The  hardy  men 
and  women  who  first  came  to  ancient  Naumkeag, 
came,  not  so  much  because  of  unjust  law  and 
tyrannical  rulers,  as  because  they  could  not  re¬ 
spect  the  enforced  forms  of  worship  then  exist¬ 
ing  in  that  country.  They  preferred  the  toils 
and  privations  of  the  wilderness  in'  the  new 
world  to  the  tyranny  of  the  Established  Church 
and  its  supporters  in  the  old. 

■  In  religious  matters  those  who  came  to  Salem 
differed  somewhat  from  those  who  established 
themselves  at  Plymouth.  The  former  were  not 
true  separatists  from  the  Church  of  England  j 
they  were  dissenters  from  its  corruptions,  its 
intolerance,  and  its  formula  only.  In  the  words 
of  the  ministers  at  Salem,  to  John  and  Samuel 
Browne  in  1629,  they  separated  not  from  the 
Church  of  England,  but  from  its  corruptions.’^ 

We  came  away,”  said  they,  from  the  com- 


10 


WITCHCKAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


mon  prayer  and  ceremonies  in  our  native  land  ; 
in  this  place  of  liberty  we  cannot,  we  will  not, 
use  them.’’  On  the  other  hand,  the  people  who 
settled  at  Pl3^mouth  were  separatists.^ 

John  Lyford  and  a  few  followers  left  the  Ply¬ 
mouth  colony  a  few  years  after  the  settlement 
there,  owing  “to  dissatisfaction  with  the  ex¬ 
treme  separation  from  the  English  Church.” 
They  settled  at  or  near  Nantasket,  but  in  1625 
removed  to  Cape  Ann.  There  they  sought  to 
establish  a  fishing  and  farming  community. 
Eoger  Conan t  joined  the  colony  in  the  fall  of 
1625  and  was  made  governor.”  The  affairs 
were  in  an  unsatisfactory  state.  Pishing  and 
farming  had  been  unprofitable.  During  the 
succeeding  spring  Conant  explored  the  coast  to 
the  mouth  of  Naumkeag  river  and  conclude  1  to 
make  a  settlement  at  PTaumkeag.  As  a  result 
of  this  movement  a  company  was  formed  in 
England  known  as  “  the  Governor  and  Colony 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England.” 
The  company  chose  John  Endicott  governor, 
and  he,  with  his  wife  and  a  few  others,  sailed 
for  the  new  world  on  June  20,  1628.  They  ar¬ 
rived  in  Salem  harbor  early  in  September.  On 
the  16th  of  April,  following,  about  two  hundred 
persons,  including  sixty  females  and  twenty-six 
children,  left  England  to  join  the  colony. 

“They  took  with  them  one  hundred  and 


l^Old  Naumkeag,  2. 


SALEM  PREVIOUS  TO  1692.  11 

forty  head  of  cattle,  besides  food,  arms,  cloth¬ 
ing,  and  tools.  There  were  four  ministers  in 
the  company.  Two  of  them  —  Francis  Hig- 
ginson  and  Samuel  Skelton  —  were  men  of 
more  than  ordinary  ability,  and  they  were  des¬ 
tined  to  play  no  unimportant  part  in  the  history 
of  the  new  world.  ^^2 

In  the  letters  from  the  home  company  to  Mr. 
Higginson,  during  the  following  year  or  two, 
we  find  much  paternal  advice.  Koe  idle 
drone  (is  to)  be  permitted  to  live  among  us.^^ 
Justice  is  urged  in  this  spirit:  ‘^Wee  hartely 
pray  you  to  admit  of  all  complaints  that  shall 
be  made  to  you,  or  any  of  you  that  are  of  the 
councell,  be  the  complaints  never  so  meane,  and 
pass  it  not  slightly  over  but  seriously  examine 
the  truth  of  the  business. 

In  another  letter :  Wee  pray  you  to  make 
some  good  lawes  for  the  punishment  of  swear¬ 
ers,  whereof  it  is  to  be  feared  too  many  are 
adicted.’^ 

The  suppression  of  intemperance  is  urged,  by 
endeavoring  though  there  bee  much  strong 
water  sent  for  sale,  so  to  order  it  as  that  salva¬ 
ges  may  not  for  our  lucre  sake  bee  induced  to 
excessive  use,  or  rather  abuse  of  it,^’  and  by 
punishing  those  ‘^who  shall  become  drunck.^^ 
The  company  urges  that,  noe  tobacco  bee 
planted  unless  it  bee  some  small  quantitie  for 
mere  necessitie  and  for  phisick  for  preservacon 

2  Old  Naumkeag,  9* 


G 


12  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


of  their  healths,  and  that  the  same  bee  taken 
privately  by  ancient  men  and  none  others.’^ 

/  The  first ,  step  after  the  arrival  of  the  minis- 
ters  and  this  large  band  of  men  and  women, 
's  x;  ■'^as"^ tb”f orm  a  church.  The  Plymouth  church 
^  had  been  transplanted  with  the  emigrants  from 


)  Holland,  but  the  men  at  Salem  brought  no 


church  with  them.  They  decided  to  found  one 
which  should  be  independent  of  all  others  and 
of  all  higher  ecclesiastical  bodies.  A  meeting 
was  held  on  July  20,  1629,  as  a  solemn  day  of 
humiliation  for  choyce  of  pastor  and  teacher 
/  for  Salem. The  meeting  was  opened  with 
prayer  and  preaching,  after  which  the  vote  was 
taken  “  by  each  one  writing  in  a  note  the  name 
'  ’  of  his  choice.^’  This  was  the  origin  of  the  use 
of  the  ballot  in  Ms  country.^  Skelton  was  thus 
chosen  pastor,  and  Higginson,  teacher.  Having 
made  choice  of  these,  the  sixth  day  of  August 
was  designated  for  the  completion  of  the 
church  organization.  On  that  day  deacons  and 
ruling  elders  were  chosen.  Thus  was  fully  con¬ 
stituted  the  First  Church  at  Salem,  and  the 
first  Protestant  Church  in  America ^  on  the 
principle  of  the  independence  of  each  religious 
community.^’  No  liturgy  was  used;  unneces¬ 
sary  ceremonies  were  rejected,  and  “  the  sim- 
-  plicity  of  Calvin  was  reduced  to  a  still  plainer 
■  standard/’^ 


3 Bancroft’s  Hist.  U.  S.,  Centenary  ed.,  I.,  271. 
4  Old  Naumkeag,  12. 


t 


SALEM  PREVIOUS  TO  1692.  13 


The  confession  of  faith  and  covenant  ” 
adopted  was  a  very  brief  document,  but  it 
“comprised  in  a  condensed  shape  and  surpass¬ 
ing  simplicity  ^  all  that  was  necessary  to 
bind  together  as  a  church  of  God  this  little  col- 


rmST  CHDECH. 


ony  of  earnest  men  and  women.  It  read  as 
follows  : 

“  We  covenant  with  the  Lord,  and  one  with  another, 
and  do  hind  ourselves  in  the  presence  of  God,  to  walk  to¬ 
gether  in  all  His  ways,  according  as  He  is  pleased  to  re¬ 
veal  Himself  unto  us,  in  His  blessed  word  of  truth.” 

5  Rev.  C.  W.  Upham,  Dedicatory  Address. 


14  WITCHOBAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

John  and  Samuel  Browne,  although  opposed 
to  state  censorship  and  rebelling  against  the  in¬ 
tolerance  and  corruption  of  the  Established 
Church,  desired  that  the  liturgy  and  common 
prayer  be  used,  and  attempted  to  set  up  a 
church  founded  on  that  idea.  They  were  sent 
back  to  England  on  the  ground  that  the  safety 
of  the  colony  would  be  endangered  by  any 
want  of  'unity. 

In  the  summer  of  1629  the  entire  govern¬ 
ment  of  the  colony  was  transferred  to  John 
Winthrop  and  eleven  followers  on  condition 
that  they  go  and  reside  in  New  England.  It 
was  ostensibly  a  commercial  operation  ;  but  it 
was  actually  the  first  step  toward  the  formation 
of  a  future  powerful  and  independent  common¬ 
wealth.®  Winthrop  and  some  seven  hundred 
others  arrived  in  Salem  in  June  of  the  follow¬ 
ing  year.  Bancroft  has  aptly  described  them 
as  “  a  community  of  believers,  professing  them¬ 
selves  to  be  fellow  members  of  Christ  ;  not  a 
school  of  philosophers,  proclaiming  universal 
toleration  and  inviting  associates  without  re¬ 
gard  to  creed. On  arriving  at  Salem  they 
found  the  people  in  destitute  circumstances, 
suffering  for  want  of  food,  clothing  and  shelter. 
Winthrop  was  not  favorably  impressed  with  the 
location  of  the  colony  and  explored  the  coast  in 

i 

6  Old  Naumkeag,  18. 

7  Bancroft’s  U.  S.,  I.,  279. 


SALEM  PREVIOUS  TO  1692. 


15 


the  vicinity  of  the  Mystic  river,  finally  settling 
at  Charlestown,  whither  he  shortly  moved  the 
seat  of  government.  The  territory  comprised 
in  the  town  of  Salem  at  that  time  was  much 
greater  than  at  present,  including  all  of  the 
present  city  and  the  towns  of  Beverly,  Danvers, 
Marblehead,  Peabody,  Wenham,  Manchester, 
and  parts  of  Topsfield  and  Middleton. 

In  1692,  with  all  the  original  territory  set  off 
save  Danvers  and  Middleton,  the  population 
numbered  1700.  It  is  evident  to  one  who  stud¬ 
ies  the  history  of  the  people  in  Salem  and  vi¬ 
cinity  in  1632  and  in  1692  that  a  change  had 
taken  place  between  those^eriods  in  the  charac¬ 
ter  and  general  intelligence  of  the  inhabitants.® 
Many  of  the  early  settlers  were  men  of  educa¬ 
tion,  and,  for  those  times,  broad  and  liberal  views. 
Endicott,  Winthrop,  Higginson,  Skelton  and  Sal- 
tonstall,  and  others  of  their  associates,  were 
men  of  more  than  common  mould.  Endicott, 
perhaps,  in  the  opinion  of  some,  exhibited  a 
little  intolerance  or  contempt  when  he  cut  the 
red  cross  from  the  flag  because  it  reminded  him 
of  popery,  but  it  was  no  such  ignorant  supersti¬ 
tion  as  that  which  led  to  the  witchcraft  delu¬ 
sion.  There  were  other  acts  which  we  should 
now  call  bigoted,  but  which  in  those  days  were 

8  G.  H.  Moore’s  “  Final  Notes,”  1885,  76.  C.  W.  Upham  in 
Hist.  Magazine,  Sept.,  1869, 140.  Unden’s  ”  New  England  The¬ 
ocracy,”  Conant’s  Translation,  222.  Palfray,  Hist.  New  Eng¬ 
land,  4, 128. 


16 


WITCHCRAFT  IX  SALFM  VILLAGE. 


not  so  considered.  No  such  men  as  those  I  have 
mentiooed  lived  in  Essex  couDty  in  1692,  and 
few  in  the  colony.  Corwin,  Hathorne,  Parris, 
Noyes,  the  Putnams  and  their  associates,  were 
men  of  limited  parts.  I  do  not  mean  to  imply 
that  these  men  were  inferior  to  their  predeces- 
sors  because  they"  believed  in  witchcraft. _ Ev¬ 

erybody  believed  in  it.  thjeiu-.JEA,dicoU 
Winthrop  had  both  signed  death  warrants  for 
persons  convicted  of  the  crime  ;  or  at  least  had 
not  stayed  the  executions  of  the  condemned. 
‘The  people  generally  lacked  the  educational  ad¬ 
vantages  of  their  ancestors.*  True^  there  was  a 
Harvard  College,  but  what  was  that  poor,  in¬ 
fant  institution,  with  its  library  limited  in  vol¬ 
umes  and  variety,  to  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 
whence  came  some  of  the  early  settlers.  The 
people  were  more  likely,  in  1692,  to  be  carried 
away  by  such  a  cry  as  that  of  witchcraft  than 
in  1632.  Increase  and  Cotton  Mather,  of  Bos¬ 
ton,  it  is  true,  were  learned  men  ;  so  was  Rev. 
Mr.  Willard,  but  the  advice  of  these  men  and 
other  Boston  ministers  was  ignored.  Some 
ministers  there  were  in  Boston  and  Salem  who 
believed  in  all  the  current  superstitions  of  the 
age  and  who  sought  to  educate  the  people  to 
believe  in  them,  rather  than  to  enlighten  their 
minds  and  explain  away,  by  the  light  of  intelli¬ 
gence,  seemingly  strange  occurrences.  The  age 
may  well  be  termed  the  dark  age  of  New  Eng- 


SALEM  PREVIOUS  TO  1692. 


17 


land  history.  The  early  dreams  of  indepen¬ 
dence  of  old  England  were  dissipated  |_i;eligion 
had  lost  its  strong  hoTdon  the  people.  The 
minister^ '^power  and  influence  were  vHInmg^ 
5e~" lould  not  lead  tlm^people  as  formerly.  The 
local  unanimity,  says  Palfra3i7~^^d  been  clis- 
solved.^  Parties  had  been  formed  with  antag¬ 
onistic  views  of  local  and  colonial  matters.  In 
affairs  of  church  there  were  dissenters.  Cer¬ 
tain  men  in  the  community  would  brook  no 
dissent  from  the  views  which  it  pleased  them 
to  hold.  They  deemed  themselves  infallible. 

— T''"  "  '  ■-  *  . 

and  were  intolerant  of  all -who  differed,  from 
them.  Puritan  bigotry  stalked  abroad  more  * 
than  in  1629.  But  it  encountered  more  opposi¬ 
tion,  and,  for  a  time,  opposition  only  increased 
the  narrowness  and  the  intolerance. 

Bancroft  says  :  “  New  England,  like  Canaan, 
had  been  settled  by  fugitives.  Like  the  Jews, 
they  had  fled  to  a  wilderness  ;  like  the  Jews, 
they  looked  to  Heaven  for  light  to  lead  them 
on  ;  like  the  Jews,  they  had  no  supreme  ruler 
but  God;  like  the  Jews,  they  had  heathen  for 
their  foes  ;  and  they  derived  their  legislation 
from  the  Jewish  code.  But  for  the  people  of 
New  England,  the  days  of  Moses  and  Joshua 
were  past ;  for  them  there  was  no  longer  a 
promised  land  —  they  were  in  possession. 
Keason  now  insisted  on  bringing  the  adopted 


9  Hist.  Xew  England,  iv.,  3. 


18 


WITCHCBAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


laws  to  the  proof,  that  it  might  hold  fast  only 
to  the  good.  Skepticism  began  to  appear. 
The  fear  of  sorcery  and  the  evil  power  of  the 
invisible  world  had  sprung  alike  from  the  letter 
of  the  Mosaic  law  and  from  the  wonder  excited 

by  the  mysteries  of  nature . 

Thje  belief  in  witchcraft  hg^d  fastened^ itself  on 
the^lements  of  faith  and  come  deeply  branded 
into  the’~cbinin6iT"^ncl^  The  people  dicnTot 
rally 'to*' th'e"  error,  they  accepted  the  supersti¬ 
tion  only  because  it  had  not''  yet  been  disen¬ 
gaged  from  religion.  The  same  causes  which 
had  given  energy  to  the  religious  principle  had 
given  weight  to  the  minister.  In  the  settle¬ 
ment  of  New  England,  the  temple,  or,  as  it 
was  called,  the  meeting  house,  was  the  centre 
round  which  the  people  gathered.  As  the 
church  had  successfully  assumed  the  exclusive 
possession  of  civil  franchises,  the  ambition  of 
the  ministers  had  been  both  excited  and  grati¬ 
fied.  They  were  not  only  the  counsellors  by 
an  unwritten  law,  they  were  the  authors  of 
state  papers,  often  employed  on  embassies,  and, 
at  home,  speakers  at  elections  and  in  town 
meetings. TJie5a-jnmisters,4ike  Piuaris^  and 
^oyes^_and  .Hale,  at  the  close  of  the  seyen- 
teenth  century,  were  losing  their  power  and 
their  prominence  because  some  few  enlightened 
men  and  thinkers  were  beginning  to  doubt. 

10  Hist.  U.  S.,  Centenary  Ed.,  246-7. 


SALEM  PREVIOUS  TO  1692. 


19 


They  oonld  continue  their  influence  only  by 

-  -  -  _  rn - ni -  i  -  H  i  ■un - - 

building  on  error  and  superstition.  Any  maja 
of  woman  who  doubt^**^s  their  enemy.  That 
jpersdh^  power  and  influence  must  be  crushed 
or  the  ministerial  control  was  lost. 

Between  the  settlement  of  Salem  by  Koger 
Conant  in  1626  and  the  witchcraft  days  of 
1692,  the  intolerance  of  the  Puritans  had  been 
strikingly  manifested  on  more  than  one  occa¬ 
sion.  The  Brownes  had  been  sent  back  to  Eng¬ 
land  for  differing  from  Endicott  and  the  First 
Church  people  ;  Endicott  had  cut  the  red  cross 
from  the  flag  because  it  reminded  him  of  pop¬ 
ery  ;  Eqger  Williams^adbeen  banished  from  the 
colony  for  preaching  that  men  should  be  allowQ(i 
freedom  of  conscience  in  religious  matters.^ 
Quakers  had  been  hung  in  Boston,,  and  Quaker 
women,  half  naked,  dragged  through  the  streets 
of  Salem  at  the  tail  of  a  cart  and  whipped,  for 
maintaining  the*  doctrines  of  their  sect.^®..,  .All, 
this  by  a  people  who,  within  half  a  cen¬ 
tury,  had  come  to  these  shores  to  worship 
according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience.  So, 
also,  Thomas  Scrugg,  a  deputy  and  a  judge  of 
the  local  court,  for  sympathy  with  Ann  Hutch¬ 
inson’s  Antimonian  views,  was  proscribed,  dis- 

9  It  was  not  Salem  that  banished  Williams,  but  the  colonial 
court.  Salem  remained  true  to  him  to  the  last. 

10 These  Quaker  women  had  previously  gone  through  the 
streets  naked,  voluntarily,  to  illustrate  the  spiritual  nakedness 
of  the  people. 


20 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


armed  and  deprived  of  his  public  functions  ; 
William  Alford,  for  sympathizing  with  Scrugg, 
was  censured  and  disarmed  and  left  the  colony  ; 
Richard  Waterman,  an  intelligent,  industrious 
man  and  law-abiding  citizen,  for  dissenting  from 
the  severe  policy  of  the  leading  men  of  the 
colony,  was  imprisoned  and  then  banished  ;  even 
Townsend  Bishop,  in  1645,  because  he  did  not 
promptly  bring  forward  an  infant  for  baptism, 
was  handed  over  for  discipline,  and  he  a  deputy 
and  local  magistrate.  Lady  Deborah  Moody, 
because  she  doubted  the  necessity  of  infant 
baptism,  was  compelled  to  leave  the  colony. 
Even  in  a  much  later  day,  William  Gray  was 
persecuted  in  Salem  for  (political)  opinion's 
sake,  and  driven  from  the  city. 

Sir  Edmund  Andros,  appointed  by  James  II, 
in  1686,  the  first  royal  governor  of  New  Eng¬ 
land,  had  been  deposed  in  1688  for  acts  of  op¬ 
pression.  For  nearly  three  years  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  Bay  colony  governed  themselves 
entirely  independent  of  the  king  of  England. 
On  the  accession  of  William  and  Mary,  Sir 
William  Phips  was  appointed  governor,  and 
came  over  in  the  spring  of  1692,  bringing  with 
him  the  new  charter.  Phips  was  not  an  edu¬ 
cated  man,  nor  was  he  a  man  of  much  experi¬ 
ence  in  public  affairs.  Fie  had  commanded  one 
successful  military  expedition  and  one  unsuc¬ 
cessful  naval  expedition.  Ilis  rise  to  prominence 


SALEM  PREVIOUS  TO  1692. 


21 


had  been  due  in  a  large  measure  to  great  wealth, 
secured  by  raising  buried  Spanish  treasure  in  the 
West  Indies. 

With  this  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  settle¬ 
ment  of  Salem,  the  people  who  constituted  that 
settlement  and  the  growth  of  the  town,  we  are 
now  prepared  to  consider  the  great  calamity 
which  befell  the  community  two  centuries  ago. 


CHAPTER 


II 


Tm  MARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASFS. 


ELIEF  in  witchcraft,  demonology,  spirit- 


^  nalism  and  kindred  isms,  under  slightly 


differing  names  and  phases,  is  as  old  as 
the  history  of  mankind.  We  read  very  early  in 
our  Bible:  ‘‘Thou  shalt  not  suffer  a  witch  to  live.^’i 
We  find  other  mention  of  witchcraft  in  the  Holy 
Book,  and  so  on  down  through  all  the  pages  of 
history  to  the  very  year  1892.^  In  the  twelfth 


century  it  was  believed  that  a  witch  was  a 


1  Exodus  XX  :  18. 

2 The  Kadkaz,  a  leading  Russian  journal,  gave  an  interest¬ 
ing  account,  in  the  early  part  of  1889,  of  a  revolting  case  of 
■witchcraft  superstition.  An  old  peasant  -woman,  living  near 
Sookoom,  in  Caucasus,  was  suspected  of  -witchcraft.  Beyond 
the  infirmities  of  age,  and,  perhaps,  of  ill  temper,  the  unhappy 
-wretch  was  no  doubt  as  innocent  as  the  victims  of  our  own 
witch  finders  were.  Her  son  died,  and  immediately  the  rumor 
ran  that  she  had  slain  him  with  the  assistance  of  the  Evil  One, 
whose  co-operation  she  had  claimed.  The  neighbors  sat  in 
judgment  over  her  and  decided  that  she  should  be  submitted 
to  the  ordeal  by  fire  — that  is  to  say,  she  was  to  be  burned  and 
tortured  in  the  hope  that  she  would  confess  her  supposed 
crime.  The  terror  of  the  poor  old  woman  deprived  her  of  co¬ 
herent  speech.  This  was  assumed  to  be  a  proof  of  her  guilt. 
She  was  seized  and  tied  to  a  pole  and  burned  to  death.  What 
gives  a  still  more  fiendish  aspect  to  this  carnival  of  cruelty  is 
that  her  surviving  son  was  among  the  most  energetic  of  those 


THE  EARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASES. 


23 


devil  and  received  from  Mm  power  to  ride 
through  the >ir  when  going  to  meetings  of  kin- 
dred ,  spirits.  In  1484,  Pope  Innocent  VIII,  is¬ 
sued  a  hull,  ordering  the  arrest  of  persons  sus¬ 
pected  of  witchcraft.  In  1485,  forty-one  aged 
women  were  burned  at  the  stake  in  Burlia  for 
substantially  the  same  thing  as  was  alleged 
against  the  men  and  women  of  Essex  county  in 
1692,  and  others  in  Massachusetts  earlier  than 
that.  Some  years  later,  forty-eight  persons 
were  condemned  in  Eavensburg,  and  a  hundred 
in  Piedmont.  In  Geneva,  in  1515,  five  hundred 
persons  are  said  to  have  been  executed  for 
witchcraft  in  twelve  weeks.®  England,  that 

who  tortured  his  mother.  The  peasantry  of  this  remote  region 
are  said  to  be  generally  amiable  and  affectionate,  and  it  is  only 
when  their  supernatural  terrors  are  aroused  that  they  seek 
their  own  safety  in  malignant  manifestations  of  fanatic  cru¬ 
elty. 

Some  of  the  negroes  of  the  South  still  believe  in  the  reality 
of  witchcraft.  In  the  spring  of  1890  a  woman  of  the  name  of 
Jaycox,  living  in  Georgia,  attempted  to  bewitch  Willis  Mitch¬ 
ell.  She  dropped  a  toad  before  his  door  after  having  decorated 
it  with  a  long  strip  of  red  flannel  in  which  she  had  tied  num¬ 
erous  knots  and  to  which  she  had  attached  pieces  of  white 
sewing  thread  and  a  bundle  of  red  flannel  in  which  were  a  lot 
of  roots  and  sewing  needles.  See  Journal  of  American  Folk 
Lore,  Vol.  Ill,  206,  “The  Plantation  Negro  as  a  Freeman,”  by 
Bruce,  and  “Negro  Myths  from  the  Georgia  Coast,”  by  C.  C. 
Jones.  See  also  Appendix  London  Spiritual  Magazine  for  1868 
for  a  case  that  happened  in  London  that  year  ;  Notes  and  Que¬ 
ries,  London,  V,  143  (4th  series)  ;  Morganshire  Advertiser, 
Eng.,  for  1862. 

Rev.  C.  B.  Rice  of  Danvers,  has  wisely  pointed  out  the  dis- 
tinction  between  “Biblical  witchcraft,”  and  the  “legal  witch¬ 
craft  ”  of  the  17th  Century. 

3  Pop.  Hist.  U.  S.  II,  451 


24  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

boasted  land  of  light,  liberty  and  law,  has  been 
cursed  with  the  superstition.  History  records 
that  as  far  back  as  the  reign  of  King  John, 
about  the  year  1200,  persons  were  executed  for 
the  so-called  crime.  It  continued  to  be  a  rec¬ 
ognized  crime  down  to  1712  in  England,  and 
1727  in  Scotland.  Executions  are  recorded  in 
Aberdeen  in  1597,  when  twenty-four  persons 
were  burned  to  death.  In  the  same  place,  in 
1617,  twenty-seven  women  were  burned  at  the 
stake.  Others  were  hanged  or  burned  in  Bark¬ 
ing,  in  1575 ;  in  Chelmsford,  Abington  and 
Cambridge,  in  1579 ;  thirteen  in  St.  Osith’s,  in 
1582.  Ninety  were  hanged  in  1645,  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty  in  1661.  The  last  execu¬ 
tion  for  witchcraft  in  England  was  in  1712,  and 
in  Scotland  in  1727.'*  Sir  Mathew  Hale,  one  of 
the  ablest  of  English  jurists,  tried  many  of 
these  cases  and  firmly  believed  there  was  such  a 
thing  as  witchcraft.  Dr.  More,  Sir  Thomas 
Brown,  Boyle,  Cranmer,  Edward  Fairfax,  and 
many  other  of  England’s  wise  men  were  be¬ 
lievers.  When,  therefore,  such  men  as  these 
believed  in  witchcraft,  how  could  the  people 
who  dwelt  in  the  American  wilderness  in  1692 
be  expected  to  doubt?  Chief  Justice  Holt  was 
the  only  man  of  prominence  on  the  English 
bench  who,  down  to  that  time,  had  doubted  the 
correctness  of  the  extreme  view  of  the  delu- 


4Ibd.  453. 


THE  EARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASES. 


25 


sion.  He  at  least  protected  the  rights  of  the 
SScused,'  whicli  is  more,  than  was  done  b^^^the 
judges  at  the  trials  in  Salem. 

The  result  of  a  century  and  a  half  of  prose¬ 
cutions,  trials  and  executions  in  England,  was  a 
crop  of  books  and  pamphlets  on  the  subject, 
mostly  "written  by  clergymen  who  had  been  be¬ 
lievers  and  prosecutors,  or  by  jurists  who  would 
naturally  defend  themselves  and  their  associ¬ 
ates  and  their  interpretation  of  the  law.  Some 
of  these  books  found  their  way  to  America. 
Many  of  them  were  read,  during  the  long  winter 
evenings,  before  the  roaring  open  fires,  by  the 
simple  New  England  people.  Children  were 
undoubtedly  allowed  access  to  them,  as  to  the 
Bible  and  the  Pilgrim’s  Progress.  Mr.  Parris 
himself  seems  to  have  founded  his  knowledge 
of  the  delusion  on  Discourses  of  the  Damned 
Art  of  Witchcraft,”  written  about  1600  by 
William  Perkins,  As  late  as  1765,  Blackstone, 
the  great  expounder  of  English  law,  wrote : 
“  To  deny  the  possibility,  nay,  actual  existence 
of  witchcraft  and  sorcery,  is  at  once  flatly  to 
contradict  the  revealed  word  of  God  in  various 
passages  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament ; 
and  the  thing  itself  is  a  truth  to  which  every 
nation  in  the  world  hath,  in  its  time,  borne  tes¬ 
timony  either  by  example,  seemingly  well  at¬ 
tested,  or  by  prohibitory  laws  which  at  least 
suppose  the  possibility  of  commerce  with  evil 


26 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


spirits.’’  ^  Blackstone  adds  that  “  these  acts  con¬ 
tinued  in  force  nntil  lately  to  the  terror  of  all 
ancieDt  females  in  the  kingdom,  and  many  poor 
wretches  were  sacrificed  thereby  to  the  preju¬ 
dice  of  their  neighbors,  and  their  own  illusions, 
not  a  few  having,  by  some  means  or  other,  con¬ 
fessed  the  fact  at  the  gallows.”  ®  How  accur¬ 
ately  this  last  sentence  describes  the  condition 
of  affairs  in  Essex  county  in  1692,  we  shall  see 
in  the  future  pages  of  this  history. 

What  was  witchcraft  ?  What  did  people  mean 
by  the  term  ?  These  are  questions  which 
should  be  understood  in  studying  the  delusion 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  bn  early  times, 
witchcraft  evidently  meant,  in  connection  with 
the  terms  sorcery,  conjurer,  etc.,  almost  any  sin¬ 
gular  conduct  Olathe  part  of  a  person,  more  es¬ 
pecially  if  that  person  were  an  aged  female. 
The  crabbedness  of  old  age  or  misfortune  was 
evidently  looked  upon  as  witchcraft.  People 
whom  we  now  term  common  scolds,  neighbor¬ 
hood  gossips, —  those  who,  in  some  unaccount¬ 
able  manner,  know  the  inmost  secrets  of  their 
neighbors,  what  they  have  done  and  what  they 
contemplate  to  do  in  the  future, —  would  have 
been,  two  or  three  centuries  ago,  accused  of 
witchcraft,  in  all  human  probability.  .Witches,, 
wer^  persons  supposed  to  have  formed  a  com- 


6  Chltty’s  Blackstone  IV,  42.  6  Ibd.,  43. 


THE  EARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASES. 


27 


pact  with  the  devil  to  torment  God’s  people, 
and  sometim^ tcTcause  their  deaths-  The  ap- 
pffitidns"of  these  bewitched  persons  were  sup- 
posed  to  go  through  the  air,  mostly  at  night  and 
oiT  broom-sticks  or  poles,  Jo  a  place.of  -meeting. 
Many  of  them  were  charged  with  having  signed 
a  book  presented  to  them  for  signature  by  his 
Satanic  majesty.  This  book  was  said  to  contain 
a  contract  which  bound  those  who  signed  it  to 
do  his  bidding.  Sometimes,  as  was  believed, 
they  took  the  forms  of  negroes,  hogs,  birds  or 
cats  when  going  to  perform  their  supernatural 
deeds. 


For  the  ^punishment  of  witchcraft,  in  what¬ 
ever  form  it  appeared,  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  fixed  the  penalty  of 
death,  usually  without  benefit  of  clergy.  Eng¬ 
land  by  the  statute  of  33  Henry  VIII,  chap.  8, 
declared  all  witchcraft  and  sorcery  to  be  felony 
without  benefit  of  clergy.  Later,  by  statute  of 
Jas.  I,  chap.  12,  it  was  enacted  that  all  persons 
invoking  any  evil  spirit,  or  consulting  or  cov¬ 
enanting  with,  entertaining,  employing,  feeding, 
or  rewarding  any  evil  spirit,  etc.,  should  be 
gi\ilty  of  felony  without  benefit  of  clergy,  and 
suffer  death. ^  Under  the  colonial  charter,  laws 
for  the  government  of  the  colony  were  adopted, 
among  them  one  against  witchcraft.  pro- 
vided  that,  if  any  man  or  woman  be  a  witch 


7Ibd.,  43. 


28 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


(that  is,  hath  or  consiilteth  with  a  familiar 
spiriQrthre3r -shall-  be  pwt  -to  death.^^**  WKeh  tlie 
charts  was  taken  away,  in  1684,  these  laws 
were  abrogated.  Whether  they  were  revived  by 
the  proclamation  of  Andros,  on  his  becoming 
governor,  that  all  colony  laws  not  repugnant  to 
the  laws  of  England  would  be  observed,^  and 
whether  the  forcible  removal  of  the  governor  a 
few  years  later  terminated  them  again,  have 
been  open  questions  among  historians  and  law¬ 
yers.  The  early  witchcraft  prosecutions  in  1692 
were  undoubtedly  brought  under  the  statute  of 
James.  That  some  of  the  later  ones  were  is 
certain.  Most  of  the  indictments  closed  in 
these  words  —  which  would  have  been  the  form, 
probably,  under  English  law  direct,  or  colonial 
law  approved  by  the  king  —  “  against  the  peace 
of  our  sovereign  Lord  and  Lady,  the  king  and 
queen,  their  crown  and  dignity,  and  against  the 
form  of  the  statute  in  that  case  made  and  pro¬ 
vided.’’  The  indictments  against  Samuel 
Wardwell  and  Eebecca  Eames,  however,  refer 
directly  to  the  statutes  of  James  I.  They  were 
among  the  last  found.  The  closing  words  are 
as  follows  :  “  with  the  evil  speritt  the  devill  a 
covenant  did  make,  wherein  he  promised  to 
honor  worship  &  believe  the  devill  contrary  to 

8 Notes  on  the  History  of  Witchcraft  in  Mass.,  1883,  Geo.  H. 
Moore,  6. 

9  Ibd.,  7.  9  Gray, 517.  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  2d  series,  viii,  77. 

10  Essex  Court  Records. 


THE  EARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASES. 


29 


the  statute  of  King  James  the  first  in  that  be¬ 
half  made  and  provided.”^^  This  would  seem  to 
settle  beyond  controversy  the  question  vrhich 
has  been  raised,  as  to  what  law  these  prosecu¬ 
tions  were  made  under.  On  June  15,  1692,  that 
General  Court  which  had  convened  on  the  8th 
in  obedience  to  the  summons  of  Gov.  Phips, 
passed  an  act  to  the  effect  that  all  local  laws 
made  by  the  late  Governor  and  Council  of  Mas¬ 
sachusetts  Bay  and  by  the  late  government  of 
Kew  Plymouth,  being  not  repugnant  to  the  laws 
of  England,  should  be  and  continue  in  force 
until  Kov.  10.  At  the  adjourned  session  in  Oc¬ 
tober  a  general  crimes  bill  was  passed,  the  sec¬ 
ond  section  of  which  read :  “  If  any  man  or 
woman  be  a  witch,  that  is  hath  or  consulteth 
with  a  familiar  spirit,  they  shall  be  put  to 
death.'’ This  was  substantially  the  language 
of  the  old  colonial  law.  On  the  14th  of  the 
following  December  an  act  was  passed  “  for  the 
more  particular  direction  in  the  execution  of 
the  law  against  witchcraft.”  The  wording  was 
substantially  that  of  the  statute  of  James. 
The  first  sectloji. ffecdarea  ThaA_aiiy,.per50it,,wfi 
^haTT'^use,  practice  or  exercise  any  invocation 
or^con juration  of  any  wicked  spirit  or  shall  con¬ 
sult,  covenant  .with,. entertain,  or  employ,  feed 
or  reward  any  evil  or  wicked  spirit ^  .  .  .  . 


lllbd. 


12  Province  Laws,  I.,  55. 


30 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


or  take  up  any  dead  maUj  woman  or  child,  out 
o^his,  her  or  their  grave,  or  any  other  place 
wher^  the  dea^  body  resteth,  or  the  skin,  bone 
or  any  other  part  of  any  dead  person,  to  be  em¬ 
ployed  or  used  in  any  manner  of  witchcraft, 
sorcery,  charm  or  enchantment  whereby  any 
person  shall  be  killed,  destroyed,  wasted  or  con- 
sumed,  pined  or  lamed  in  his  or  her  body,  shall 
suffer  the  pains  of  death.”  The  second  section 
provides  that  if  any  person  attempt  by  sorcery 
to  discover  any  hidden  treasure,  or  restore 
stolen  goods,  or  provoke  unlawful  love,  or  hurt 
any  man  or  beast,  though  the  same  be  not  ef¬ 
fected,  he  shall  be  imprisoned  one  year  and 
once  every  quarter  stand  on  the  pillory  in  the 
shire  town  six  hours  with  the  offence  written  in 
capital  letters  on  his  breast.i^  For  a  second 
offence  of  this  nature  the  punishment  was 
death.  Both  of  these  acts  were  disallowed  on 
Aug.  22,  1695,  but  they  had  full  force  and  effect 
in  the  meantime. 

It  is  n.  little  uncertain  just  when  the  first  case 
of  witchcraft  arose  in  New  England.  Hutch¬ 
inson  says  it  was  in  1645  at  Springfield,  Mass., 
when  several  persons  were  afflicted,  among  them 
two  of  the  minister’s  children,  and  that  every 
effort  was  made  to  convict  some  one  of  bewitch¬ 
ing  them,^'*  but  in  vain.  It  is  not  quite  certain 

13  Province  Laws,  I.,  90.  14  Hist.  Mass.,  II.,  16. 


THE  EARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASES. 


31 


that  Hutchinson  has  not  here  confounded  the 
Springfield  case  of  1651  with  this  date. 

The  first  execution  for  witchcraft  in  the  new 
worl5'"'^Sff“'iafChafrestown,  in  1648,  the  victim 
being  Margaret  Jones.  She  was  accused  of 
practicing  witchcraft,  tried,  found  guilty,  and 
hanged.  The  records  of  her  case,  if  ever  there 
were  any,  have  long  since  been  destroyed.  The 
best  account  of  it,  undoubtedly,  is  that  found  in 
the  journals  of  Gov.  Winthrop.  He  was  not 
only  governor  of  the  colony  at  the  time,  but  pre¬ 
sided  at  the  trial.  He  says  the  evidence  against 
her  was  ‘‘  that^he  wa^Jpund  to  have  mich"^a 
malignant  touch  as  many  persons,  men,  women 
and  children,  whom  she  stroked  or  touched  with 
any  affection  or  displeasure  &c.,  were  taken 
with  deafness,  or  vomitting,  or  other  violent 
pains  or  sickness.’^  Her  medicines,  being  ahise- 
sCed  or  other  harmless  things,  yet  had,  he  sa3^s, 
such  extraordinary  effect,  and  she  used  to  tell 
such  as  would  not  make  use  of  her  physic  that 
they  would  never  be  healed,  and  ‘^accordingly 
their  diseases  and  hurts  continued  with  relapses 
against  the  ordinary  course.”  Again,  Winthrop 
says,  in  the  prison  there  was  seen  in  her  arms 
a  little  child  which  ran  from  her  into  another 
room  and  the  officer  following  it,  it  vanished. 
Such  is  the  story  told  by  the  judge  who  tried  the 
case.  Can  we  doubt  the  correctness  of  his  sum¬ 
mary  of  the  evidence  ?  No  man  in  the  colony 

15Winthrop’s  Journal,  IL,  326. 


32 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


stood  higher  than  John  Winthrop.  Margaret 
Jones,  from  all  we  can  learn  of  her,  was  some¬ 
thing  of  a  physician,  an  “  irregular  practic- 
ioner,’’  perhaps — what  would  be  called  a  “  quack’’ 
in  this  age.  Possibly  she  met  with  success 
sometimes  where  a  regular  ”  had  failed.  As 
indicating  the  sentiments  of  the  times,  it  is 
worthy  of  note  that  the  governor,  a  man  natu¬ 
rally  of  sterling  common  sense,  relates  in  his 
journal,  that,  “  same  day  and  hour  she  was 
executed,  there  was  a  very  great  tempest  at 
Connecticut  which  blew  down  many  trees. 

Shortly  after  the  execution  of  Margaret  Jones, 
her  husband  endeavored  to  secure  passage  to 
Barbadoes  in  a  vessel  then  lying  in  Boston  har¬ 
bor  with  a  hundred  and  eighty  tons  of  ballast 
and  eighty  horses  on  board.  He  was  refused 
passage  because  he  was  the  husband  of  a  witch, 
and  “  it  was  immediately  observed  that  the  ves¬ 
sel  began  to  roll  as  if  it  would  turn  over.”  This 
strange  action  was  alleged  to  be  caused  by  Jones. 
The  magistrates,  being  notified,  issued  their  war¬ 
rant  for  his  arrest.  As  the  officer,  going  to 
serve  the  warrant,  was  crossing  in  the  ferry,  the 
vessel  continued  to  roll.  He  remarked  that  he 
had  that  which  would  tame  the  vessel  and  keep 
it  quiet,  at  the  same  time  exhibiting  the  docu¬ 
ment.  Instantly  the  vessel  ceased  to  roll,  after 
having  been  in  motion  twelve  hours.  Jones  was 
arrested  and  thrown  into  prison,  and  the  vessel 


leibd. 


THE  EARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASES. 


33 


rolled  no  mored^  He  was  not  executed,  and  I  do 
not  find  that  he  was  ever  tried. 

Mary  Parsons,  wife  of  Hugh  Parsons  of 
Springfield,  in  1649,  circulated  a  report  that  the 
widow  Marshfield  was  guilty  of  witchcraft.  The 
widow  began  an  action  against  the  Parsons 
woman  before  Mr,  Pynchon,  the  local  magis¬ 
trate,  on  the  ground  of  slander.  Mrs.  Parsons 
was  found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of 
£3  or  be  whipped  twenty  lashes.^^  In  May, 
1651,  Mary  Parsons  w'as  herself  charged  with 
witchcraft  on  Martha  and  Pebekah  Moxon, 
children  of  the  minister.  She  was  tried  before 
the  General  Court  in  Boston,  on  May  13,  1651, 
and  acquitted.  B.he  wa^  then  chLargsd  with  the 
murder  of  her  owni  child,  to  which  charge  she 
pleaded  guilty,  and  the  court  sentenced  her  to 
be  hanged.  A  reprieve  was  granted  on  May  29, 
but  whether  it  w'as  made  permanent,  is  not 
known.  Hugh  Parsons  was  tried  in  Boston  on 
Ma}''  31,  1652,  on  a  charge  of  witchcraft,  and 
acquitted. The  particulars  in  these  cases  are 

17  Everett’s  Anecdotes  of  Early  Local  History. 

18 King’s  Hand  Book  of  Springfield. 

19  Mass.  Colonial  Records  for  May  13,  1651.  Also,  May  31, 1652. 

Drake  says  Mary  Farsoi.s  died  in  prison,  and  that  she  had 
charged  her  husband  with  bewitching  her.  (Hist,  of  Boston, 
322.)  Palfrey  thinks  she  w'as  executed.  (Hist.  New  England, 
IV.,  96,  note.)  A  writer  in  the  Mercurius  Publicus,  a  London 
newspaper,  of  Sept.  25, 1651,  says:  ‘-Four  in  Springfield  were 
detected,  whereof  one  was  executed  for  murder  of  her  own 
child  and  was  doubtless  a  witch,  another  is  condemned,  a  third 
under  trial,  a  fourth  under  suspition.”  (Ibd.) 


34 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


very  meagre.  It  is  hardly  safe  to  say  that  any 
statement  relative  to  the  final  disposition  of 
them  is  true  beyond  question.  As  showing  some¬ 
what  the  state  of  the  public  mind  at  that  time, 
it  is  related  that  on  the  same  day  that  Parsons 
was  tried,  the  General  Court  appointed  a  day  of 
humiliation,  in  consideration,  among  other 
things,  ‘‘of  the  extent  to  which  satan  prevails 
amongst  us  in  respect  of  witchcraft.”^® 

John  Bradstreet  of  Rowley  was  tried  in 
Ipswich  on  July  28,  1652,  on  a  charge  of  “  famil¬ 
iarity  with  the  devil.”  The  order  of  the  court, 
subsequently  pronounced,  was  that  “John  Brad- 
street  upon  his  presentation  of  the  last  court  for 
suspicion  of  having  familiarity  with  the  devil, 
upon  examination  of  the  case  they  found  he  had 
told  a  lie,  which  was  a  second,  being  convicted 
once  before.  The  court  sets  a  fine  of  20  s.  or 
else  to  be  whipped. 

f~The  next  case  of  which  we  have  a  record  was 
4hat  of  Ann  Hibbins  of  Boston,  a  widow,  whose 
husband  had  died  in  1654.  Hibbins  had  been  a 
prosperous  trader,  but  during  the  later  years  of 
his  life  had  met  with  reverses,  and  soon  sick¬ 
ened  and  died.  This  double  affliction  is  said  to 
have  made  his  widow  crabbed  and  meddlesome. 
At  all  events,  she  had  so  much  trouble  with  her 
^'-ne-ighbors  that  the  church  censured  her.  During 

20  Mass.  Colonial  Records  for  May  13,  1651. 

21  Essex  Court  Papers. 


THE  EARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASES. 


35 


the  closing  weeks  of  1655  she  was  accused  of 
being  a  witch.  We  have  no  record  of  her  trial. 
We  do  not  know  just  what  the  form  of  the 
charge  against  her  was,  nor  the  nature  of  the 
evidence.  The  jury  returned  a  verdict  of 
guilty,  but  the  judges  would  not  receive  it.  The 
case,  under  the  law  of  the  times,  went  to  the 
General  Court  for  trial.  Mrs.  Hibbins  was 
called  to  the  bar  and  pleaded  not  guilty.  The 
evidence  which  had  been  taken  in  court  was  read 
and  the  witnesses,  being  present,  acknowledged 
it.  The  General  Court  thereupon  adjudged  the 
woman  guilty.  Gov.  John  Endicott  pronounced 
sentence,  and  she  was  hanged. 22  Mr.  Beach,  a 
minister  at  Jamaica,  wrote  in  a  letter  to  Increase 
Mather  that  Mr.  Norton  once  said  that  Ann 
Hibbins  was  hanged  for  ‘‘having  more  wit  than 
her  neighbors ;  that  the  principal  evidence 
against  her  was  that,  once  on  a  time,  seeing  two 
neighbors  conversing  on  the  street  she  remarked 
that  they  were  talking  about  her,  and  so  it 
proved.’^^  One  John  Scottow,  a  selectman  and 
otherwise  a  prominent  citizen,  testified  some¬ 
what  in  favor  of  Mrs.  Hibbins,  and  the  court 
compelled  him  to  write  a  most  humble  apology 
for  having  appeared  to  say  a  word  in  favor  of 
one  accused.^  It  is  a  little. singular  in  this  case 
that  while  the  woman  was  a  sister  of  Deputy 

22  Mass.  Colonial  Record,  VI.,  pt.  1,  269;  also.  Witchcraft 
Papers,  State  House,  Boston. 


36 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


Go^vj^nor  Belli nghRm^^s  ^.nd  he  could  undoubted¬ 
ly  have  exerted  sufficient  influence  to  save’TOr, 
nothing  of  the  kind  appears  to  have  been  done. 

In  1659,  John  Godfrey,  an  Essex  county*^an, 
was  accused  of  witchcraft,  and  bound  over  to 
the  higher  court.  As  no  further  record  of  his 
case  is  to  be  found,  it  is  presumed  he  was  either 
not  brought  to  trial  or,  if  so,  was  acquitted.  He 
sued  two  of  the  prosecutors  and  witnesses 
against  him  and  recovered  damages  from  them. 
Another  item  on  a  later  court  record  indicates 
that  Godfrey  was  before  the  court  and  fined  for 
being  drunk. 

Ann  Cole  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  in  1662,  was 
concerned  with  two  people  of  the  name  of 
Greensmith,  man  and  wife,  in  some  sort  of 
transaction  which  brought  against  them  all  a 
charge  of  witchcraft.  John  Whiting  wrote  to 
Increase  Mather  that  she  was  “  a  person  es¬ 
teemed  pious,  behaving  herself  with  a  pleasant 
mixture  of  humility  and  faith  under  very  heavy 
suffering.24  She  made  a  confession  of  some 
nature  and  used  the  names  of  the  Greensmiths 
to  their  prejudice.  The  Greensmith  woman 
confessed  that  a  demon  had  had  carnal  knowl¬ 
edge  of  her  with  much  seeming  delight  to  her- 
self.“  She  was  executed,  and  two  of  the  others 

23  Poole’s  Introduction  to  Johnson’s  Wonder  Working  Provi¬ 
dences.  Note,  oxxix. 

24  Mass.  Hist.  Col.,  VIII.,  46C. 

25  Hutchinson’s  Hist.  Mass.  Bay,  II.,  23. 


THE  EARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASES. 


37 


condemned,  but  probably  not  hanged.  It  looks 
very  much  as  if,  beneath  all  this  piety  and  hu¬ 
mility  exhibited  by  Ann  Cole,  there  was  some 
evil ;  that  her  conduct  was  not  always  perfect, 
and  that  to  cover  up  her  responsibility  for  evil 
deeds  she  confessed  to  being  a  witch. 

The  next  case  in  chronological  order  was  that 
of  Elizabeth  Knapp  of  Groton,  Mass.,  in  1671. 
I  quote  largely  from  Putnam's  account,  con¬ 
densed  from  the  record  left  by  Rev.  Samuel 
Willard.^®  Elizabeth  was  at  first  subject  to 
mental  moods  and  violent  physical  actions. 
Strange,  ^i3iMfiJl----&hriek.^.  strange_jihang.es.  -of. 
countenance  appQ^red  ;  followed  by  the  exclama¬ 
tions  :  ‘^0,  my  leg,"  which  she  would  rub  ;  0, 

rny  breast,’^  and  she  would  rub  that.  After¬ 
wards  came  fits  in  which  she  would  cry  out, 

money,  money,"  offered  her  as  inducements  to 
yield  obedience,  and  sometimes,  sin  and  mis¬ 
ery,"  as  threats  of  punishment  for  refusal  to 
obey  the  wishes  of  her  strange  visitant.  Subse¬ 
quently  she  barked  like  a  dog  and  bleated  like  a 
calf.  Then  she  told  Mr.  Willard  he  “  was  a 
great  rogue."  Some  voice  replied  ''  I  am  not 
satan,  I  am  a  pretty  black  boy,  this  is  my  pretty 
girl."  She  charged  Willard  himself  and  some 
others  of  his  parish  with  being  her  tormentors. 
Elizabeth  Knapp's  case  seems  to  call  for  little 

26  Putnam’s  Witchcraft  Explained,  etc.,  157;  also  Mass- 
Hist.  Coll.,  VIII.,  655. 


38 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


comment.  We  may  form  our  own  opinions  as 
to  the  disorder  from  which  she  suffered. 

The  first  important  Essex  County  case  of 
witchcraft  was  that  which  occurred  in  the  family 
of  William  Morse  of  Newbury,  now  Newbury- 
port,  in  1679.  The  family  consisted,  besides  the 
old  gentleman  himself,  of  his  wife,  about  sixty- 
five  years  of  age,  and  a  grandson,  John  Stiles, 
twelve  or  fifteen  years  of  age.  To  show  the 
condition  of  affairs  as  it  appeared  to  Morse)  I 
quote  from  his  testimony  : 

About  midnight,  the  door  being  locked  when  we  went  to 
bed,  we  heard  a  great  hog  in  the  house  grunt  and  make  a 
great  noise,  as  we  thought  willing  to  get  out,  and  that  we 
might  not  be  disturbed  in  our  sleep  I  arose  to  let  him  out, 
and  I  found  a  hog  in  the  house  and  the  door  unlocked. 
The  door  was  firmly  locked  when  we  went  to  bed.  The 
night  following.  I  had  a  great  awl  lying  in  the  window,  the 
which  awl  we  saw  fall  down  out  of  the  chimney  into  the 
ashes  by  the  fire.  After  this  I  bid  the  boy  put  the  same 
awl  into  the  cupboard,  which  we  saw  done  and  the  door 
shut  to.  This  same  awl  came  presently  down  the  chimney 
again  in  our  sight,  and  I  took  it  up  myself.  Again  the 
same  night  we  saw  a  little  Indian  basket  that  was  in  the 
loft  before  come  down  the  chimney  again.  And  I  took  the 
same  basket  and  put  a  brick  into  it,  and  the  basket  with 
the  brick  was  gone,  and  came  down  again  the  third  time 
with  the  brick  in  it,  and  went  up  again  the  fourth  time  and 
came  down  again  without  the  brick,  and  the  brick  came 
down  again  a  little  after.  The  next  day  in  the  afternoon, 
my  thread  four  times  taken  away,  and  came  down  the 
chimney,  again  my  awl  and  gimlet  wanting,  again  my 
leather  taken  away,  came  down  the  chimney,  again  my 
nails,  being  in  the  cover  of  a  firkin,  taken  away,  came 
down  the  chinmey.  The  next  day,  being  Sabbath  day,  i 


THE  EARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASES. 


39 


saw  many  stones  and  sticks,  and  pieces  of  bricks  come 
down  the  chimney.  On  Monday  I  saw  the  andiron  leap 
into  the  pot,  dance  and  leap  out  again,  leap  in  and  dance 
and  leap  out  again  and  leap  on  a  table  and  there  abide,  and 
my  wife  saw  the  andirons  on  the  table.  Also  I  saw  the  pot 
turn  itself  over  and  throw  down  all  the  water. 

Morse  continued  for  some  time  to  relate  such 
occurrences  as  these.  He  subsequently  testified 
that  Caleb  Powell  came  in  and  said  :  This  boy 
is  the  occasion  of  your  grief,  for  he  hath  done 
these  things,  and  hath  caused  his  poor  old 
grandmother  to  be  counted  a  witch.’’  Powell 
then  told  Morse  that  he  had  seen  young  Stiles 
do  many  of  the  things,  and  that  if  he  would  let 
him  have  the  boy  he  should  be  free  from 
trouble.  He  did  let  Powell  have  the  lad  Mon¬ 
day  night,  and  had  no  more  trouble  until  Priday 
night.  Then  the  strange  performances  were 
renewed.  The  old  man’s  cap  was  pulled  off  his 
head  and  “  the  cat  throwed  at  him.”  They  put 
the  cat  out  and  shut  the  doors  and  windows, 
and  presently  she  walked  in.  After  they  went 
to  bed  the  cat  was  throwed  at  them  five 
times,”  once  wrapped  in  a  red  waistcoat.  Such 
is  the  story  told  under  oath  by  an  old  man, 
whom  Kev.  Mr.  Hale  said  was  “  esteemed  a  sin¬ 
cere  and  understanding  Christian  by  those  who 
knew  him.”  He  and  his  wife,  under  all  the 
solemnities  of  their  oaths, — and  an  oath  meant 
much  in  those  days, — made  these  startling  de¬ 
positions.  What  shall  we  say  of  them  ?  Have 


40 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


the  statements  exaggerated  the  facts  ?  How 
can  they  be  met  ?  how  explained  ?  Do  we  be¬ 
lieve  these  old  people  wilfully  falsified  ?  Caleb 
Powell  seems  to  have  suspected  the  boy  John  of 
mischievously  perpetrating  the  tricks  on  the  old 
people.  He  thought  he  could  put  an  end  to 
them  by  removing  the  youth  from  their  house ; 
and  he  did.  So  long  as  John  was  away  there 
were  none  of  those  strange  occurrences.  Powell 
was  a  sea-faring  man,  and  when  on  land  dwelt 
near  the  Morses.  He  was  perhaps  a  trifle  boast¬ 
ful  of  his  powers,  and  told  these  simple,  un trav¬ 
elled  people  what  remarkable  things  he  could  do, 
among  others  that  he  could  detect  witchcraft. 
We  should  naturally  expect,  after  Powell  had 
demonstrated  to  Morse  that  his  grandson  was  a 
mischievous  scapegrace,  that  the  grandfather 
would  have  taken  the  boy  home  and  given  him  a 
sound  thrashing,  and  then  thanked  the  man  who 
had  exposed  the  imposture.  But  no  ;  it  was  an 
age  of  religious  bigotry  and  superstition.  Morse 
at  once  turned  upon  Powell  and  charged  him 
with  practicing  witchcraft.  Complaint  was  made 
against  him  in  the  local  court  on  Dec.  3,  1679. 
His  examination  took  place  on  Dec.  8,  and  the 
court  ordered  Morse  to  give  bonds  to  prosecute 
at  the  next  term  of  court  in  Ipswich.  The  case 
was  heard  on  March  30,  1680.  The  court  or¬ 
dered,  that  though  it  found  no  grounds  for  the 
procedure  against  Powell,  yet  he  had  given 


THE  EARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASES. 


41 


such  ground  for  suspicion  of  his  so  dealing  that 
they  could  not  acquit  him,  but  that  he  deserved 
to  bear  his  own  share  of  costs  of  prosecution.” 

Complaint  was  then  made  against  Mrs.  Morse 
herself,  and  on  May  20,  1680,  she  was  tried  and 
convicted.  G-ov.  Bradstreet,  on  May  27,  after 
lecture  in  the  meeting-house  in  Boston,  sentenced 
her  to  be  hanged.  He  granted  a  reprieve  on 
June  1,  until  the  next  session  of  the  court, 
when  the  reprieve  was  still  further  extended. 
The  House  of  Deputies  protested,  and  urged  ex¬ 
ecution.  In  1681,  however,  the  House  voted  to 
give  her  a  new  trial,  the  magistrates  concurring 
in  the  vote.  We  next  hear  of  Mrs.  Morse  at 
her  home  in  Hewbury,  through  a  letter  written 
by  Rev.  John  Hale  in  1699.  The  records  do  not 
inform  us  whether  she  was  ever  tried  again  or 
how  she  obtained  her  liberty.  All  we  know  is, 
that  from  all  the  testimony,  she  lived  a  Christ¬ 
ian  life  the  remainder  of  her  days,  and  always 
denied  that  she  was  ever  guilty  of  witchcraft. 
Gov.  Bradstreet,  who*  passed  sentence  on  Mrs. 
Morse,  subsequently  lived  in  Salem,  and  his 
remains  were  buried  in  the  old  Charter  street 
burying  ground.  In  1692,  as  in  1680,  he  dared 
to  resist  the  clamors  of  a  misguided  people  and 
judiciary,  and  an  unlearned,  superstitious  popu¬ 
lace.  Had  Gov.  Phips  possessed  his  intelligence 
and  firmness  the  harvest  of  death  on  Witch 
Hill  would  not  have  formed  a  part  of  our  early 


GOV.  BBADSTBEKT’S  home,  SALEM 


THE  EARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASES.  43 

American  history.  It  is  noteworthy  that  in 
1692  tlif*  witchcraft  delusion  did  not  reach  old 
Newbury.  Her  people  evidently  learned  a 
lesson  from  the  Morse  case  which  they  did  not 
soon  forget. 

One  of  the  latest  and  most  interesting  of  the 
ante-Salem  Village  cases  was  that  in  the  Good¬ 
win  family  in  1688.  The  daughter  of  a  Mrs. 
Glover  was  laundress  in  the  Goodwin  household 
in  Boston.  John  Goodwin  had  four  children, 
aged  respectively  thirteen,  eleven,  seven  and 
five.  The  eldest,  a  girl  named  Martha,  accused 
the  laundress  of  carrying  away  some  of  the 
family  linen.  Mrs.  Glover  is  described  by 
Hutchinson^^  and  Calef^^  as  a  wild  Irish  woman 
of  bad  character.’^  She  talked  harshly,  perhaps 
profanely,  to  the  children.  The  girl  Martha 
immediately  fell  into  a  fit.  The  other  children 
soon  followed  her  example.  They  were  struck 
dead  at  the  sight  of  the  assembly's  chatechism, 
Cotton  Mather’s  ^  Milk  for  Babes,’  and  some 
other  good  books,  but  could  read  the  Oxford 
Jests,  Popish  and  Quaker  books  and  the  Com¬ 
mon  Prayer,  without  any  difficulties  Some¬ 
times  they  would  be  deaf,  then  dumb,  then  blind, 
and  sometimes  all  these  disorders  together 
would  come  upon  them.  Their  tongues  would 
be  drawn  down  their  throats,  then  pulled  out 
upon  their  chins.  Their  jaws,  necks,  shoulders, 

27  Hist.  Mass.,  II.,  25.  28  Fowler’s  Ed.,  357. 


44 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


elbows,  and  all  their  joints  would  appear  to  be 
dislocated,  and  they  would  make  the  most  pit¬ 
eous  outcries  of  burnings,  of  being  cut  with 
knives,  <fec.  The  ministers  of  Boston  and 
Charlestown  kept  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayers 
at  the  troubled  house,  after  which  the  youngest 
child  made  no  more  complaints.’^  The  magis¬ 
trates  then  interposed,  and  the  elder  Glover 
woman  was  apprehended.  Upon  examination 
she  would  neither  confess  nor  deny,  and  ap¬ 
peared  disordered  in  her  senses.  Physicians 
declared  her  to  be  of  sound  mind,  whereupon 
she  was  convicted,  sentenced  and  executed.  The 
eldest  child  went  to  live  in  the  family  of  the 
minister.  For  some  time  she  behaved  properly, 
and  then  had  fits  for  a  short  time.  Hutchinson 
says  that  after  this  they  returned  to  their  or¬ 
dinary  behavior,  lived  to  adult  age,  made  pro¬ 
fession  of  religion,  and  the  affliction  they  had 
been  under  they  publicly  declared  to  be  one 
motive  to  it.  One  of  them,  I  knew  many  years 
after.  She  had  the  character  of  a  very  virtuous 
woman,  and  never  made  any  acknowledgement 
of  fraud  in  the  transaction.’’^^ 

It  should  be  distinctly  understood  that  the 
Glover  woman  was  not  prosecuted  because  of  her 
religion.  That  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  This 
case  has  sometimes  been  connected  with  the 
Salem  cases  of  1692,  but  it  had  no  connection 
with  them,  either  directly  or  indirectly. 

29 Hist.  Mass.,  II.,  25-26.  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  VIII.,  367. 


THE  EARLY  WITCHCRAFT  CASES. 


45 


I  have  thus  traced,  all  too  briefly,  perhaps,  the 
more  important  witchcraft  cases  in  New  England 
previous  to  1692.  Enough  has  here  been  given 
I  trust,  to  show  that  the  outbreak  in  Salem  Vil¬ 
lage  was  nothing  phenomenal ;  that  it  did  not 
differ  from  what  had  happened  elsewhere,  save 
in  obtaining  a  firmer  hold  in  the  minds  of  the 
people,  and  in  being  fostered  by  certain  ministers 
and  prominent  men  more  than  in  other  places. 
A  few  strong,  calm  words  from  them  in  Febru¬ 
ary,  1692,  would  have  summarily  allayed  the 
excitement  and  put  an  end  to  the  whole  wretched 
business.  But  those  words  were  not  spoken,  and 
the  tragedy  followed. 

Note.  Beside  the  cases  in  New  England  previous  to  1692, 
there  were  prosecutions  for  witchcraft  in  several  southern  states 
subsequent  to  that  time.  Grace  Sherwood  was  accused  in 
Princess  Ann  County,  Virginia,  in  1696.  A  jury  of  women 
searched  her  for  witch  marks,  and  the  “water  ordeal”  was 
tried.  Tnat  is,  the  sheriff  was  ordered  to  take  “all  such  con¬ 
venient  assistance  of  boats  and  men  as  shall  he  by  him  thought 
fit,  to  meet  at  John  Harper’s  plantation  in  order  to  take  said 
Grace  and  put  her  [into  water]  above  man’s  depth,  and  try  her 
how  she  swims  therein,  always  having  care  of  her  life  to  pre¬ 
serve  her  from  drowning,  and  as  soon  as  she  came  out  that  he 
request  as  many  antient  and  knowing  women  as  possible  he 
can  to  search  carefully  for  all  marks  or  spots  about  her  body 
not  usual  on  others,  etc.”  These  “antient  women”  reported 
that  they  discovered  certain  distinctive  marks  of  the  woman. 
She  was  committed  for  trial. 

Persons  were  accused  of  witchcraft  in  South  Carolina  in 
1709,  tried  and  sentenced  to  be  burned  at  the  stake.  Drake  says 
they  were  roasted  by  Are  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  they 
were  burned  to  death.  J.  Prince,  Salem  Gazette,  Nov.  6, 1891, 


CHAPTER  III. 


OUTBRI^AK  IN  SAIRM  VUIAGB. 


►HE  witchcraft  delusion  of  1692  undoubt- 
edly  had  its  inception  in  the  home  of 
Rev.  Samuel  Parris,  pastor  of  the  church 
in  Salem  Village.  Inhis^i^ly-w^re^i-daughter, 
~El;izabeflb~ntner  years  of  age ;  a  niece,  Abigail 


Williams,  eleven  years  of  age ;  and  a  servant, 
Tituba,  half  Indian,  half  negro.  The  tradition 
is  that  the  two  girls,  with  perhaps  a  few  other 
children  of  the  neighborhood,  used,  during  the 
winter  of  1691-2,  to  assemble  in  the  minister's 
kitchen  and  practice  tricks  and  incantations  with 
Tituba.  Among  the  other  girls  of  the  neighbor¬ 
hood,  some  of  whom  are  believed  to  have  been 
present  at  a  portion  of  these  performances,  were 
Ann  Putnam,  twelve  years  of  age,  daughter  of 
Sergt.  Thomas  Putnam  ;  Mercy  Lewis,  seven¬ 
teen  years  of  age,  maid  in  the  family  of  Sergt. 
Putnam ;  Elizabeth  Hubbard,  seventeen  years  of 
age,  a  niece  of  the  wife  of  Dr.  Griggs,  the  village 
physician,  and  a  servant  in  the  family ;  and 
Sarah  Churchill,  aged  twenty  years,  a  servant 


PARKIS  HOUSE,  SO-CALLED,  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

[This  building  was  added  to  the  parsonage  of  1692,  after  Parris  departed.] 


THE  OUTBREAK  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE.  47 


48 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


in  the  family  of  George  Jacobs,  Sen.  Mercy 
Lewis  had  previously  lived  in  the  family  of  Rev. 
George  Burroughs.  During  the  winter  these 
girls  held  occasional  meetings  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood,  usually  at  the  minister’s  house.  Calef 
says  they  began  to  act  after  a  strange  and  unu¬ 
sual  manner,  by  getting  into  holes  and  creeping 
under  chairs  and  stools,  and  to  use  sundry  odd 
postures  and  antic  gestures,  uttering  foolish, 
ridiculous  speeches,  which  neither  they  them¬ 
selves  nor  any  others  could  make  sense  of.^ 

This  state  of  affairs  continuing  from  late  in  De¬ 
cember  until  into  February,  1692,  the  elder  peo¬ 
ple  learned  something  of  what  was  transpiring 
in  their  midst.  Great  was  their  consternation. 
Dr.  Griggs  was  called,  but  as  sometimes  hap¬ 
pens,  even  in  this  age  of  great  learning,  the 
doctor  did  not  know  what  ailed  the  young 
people.  Their  disease  ”  was  one  unknown 
to  medical*~science.  --Evidentlyfieeliug  ^obliged 


to  give  some  explanation  of  the  disorder,  the 
doctor  declared  that  the  girls  were  possessed  of 
the  devil,  in  other  words,  bewitched  Thereupon 
the  curiosity  of  the  whole  community  was  awak¬ 
ened.  People  came  from  far  and  near  to  witness 
the  strange  antics  of  these  children.  Their 
credulity  was  taxed  to  its  utmost.  Mr.  Parris, 
as  was  natural,  was  not  only  an  interested  spec¬ 
tator,  but  he  took  charge  of  the  whole  business. 

1  Calef’s  More  Wonders,  Fowler’g  ed.,  224. 


THE  OUTBREAK  IK  SALEM  VILLAGE.  49 

He  called  a  meeting  of  the  ministers  of  the 
neighboring  parishes  to  observe,  to  investigate, 
to  pray.  They  cameL4hev-sagL;  they  were  con- 
qqered.  They  unanimously_-agreed— vritir  T)r; 
Griggs  that  the  girls  were  bewitched.  The  all- 
i ihportant  question  was,  Who  or  what  caused. 
them  to  act  as  they  did  ?  Who  bewitched  them  ? 
Whose  spirit  did  tlTimevil  take  to  afflict  them  ? 
Mr.  Parris  and  some  of  the  ministers  and  prom¬ 
inent  people  of  the  village  undertook  to  solve 
the  mystery.  Several  private  fasts  were  held 
at  the  minister’s  house,  and  several  were  held 
publicly.  The  children  at  first  refused  to  tell 
anything  about  the  mvsfprimis  afFair.  ^ijtuba 
professed  to  know  how  to  discover  witches,  and 
some  experiments  with  that  end  in  view. 
With  the  assistance  of  her  husband,  John  In¬ 
dian,  she  mixed  some  meal  with  urine  of  the 
afflicted  and  made  a  cake.  The  children,  hear¬ 
ing  that  Tituba  was  attempting  to  discover  the 
witches,  are  said  to  have  cried  out”  against 
her.  They  said  she  pinched,  pricked  and  tor¬ 
mented  them,  and  they  fell  into  fits.  She  ac¬ 
knowledged  that  she  had  learned  how  to  find 
out  a  witch,  but  denied  that  she  was  one  her¬ 
self.  Tituba  was  called  an  Indian,  but  she  was 
not  a  North  American  Indian.  She  aud  her 
husband,  John,  were  brought  from  the  West  In¬ 
dies  by  Mr.  Parris  when  he  came  to  Massachu- 


50 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


setts  Bay.  They  had  been  his  slaves  there. 
Both  spoke  English  but  imperfectly  and  under¬ 
stood  it  only  partially.  In  addition  to  Tituba, 
the  children  named  Sarah  Good  and  Sarah  Os- 
burn  as  their  tormentors.  Most  of  the  early 
writers,  think  there  was  method  in  their  mad¬ 
ness.  They  describe  Good  as  a  melancholy 
distracted  person,”  and  Osburn  as  ‘‘a  bed-ridden 
old  woman. No  one  of  the  three  women,  they 
reason,  was  l^iely  to  be  believed  in  any  denial 
of  the  statements  of  these  girls  connected  with 
families~bf  prominence  and  respectability. 

This,  in  brief,  is  the  story  that  has  come  down 
to  us  from  all  the  early  and  most  of  the  later 
writers.  1  am  not  disposed  to  deny. its  correct¬ 
ness  j  but  two  or  three  suggestions  occur  in  this 
connection,  which  seem  worthy  of  mention.  Is 
^  it  probable  that  these  girls,  living  miles  apart,  in 
some  instances  five  miles  from  the  minister's 
house,  in  a  wilderness  almost,  where  carriages 
were  unknown  and  bridle  paths  often  dangerous, 
^  would  travel  by  night,  in  the  dead  of  winter,  to 
5  Parris’s  house  and  home  again  ?  Is  it  probable 
that  their  parents  or  mistresses  would  allow 
them  out  and  away  from  home  in  this  manner  ? 
Is  it  probable  that  such  meetings,  “  circles  ”  as 
some  call  them,  could  be  held  at  the  minister’s 


2  Hutchinson’s  Hist.  Mass.,  II.,  29. 


THE  OUTBREAK  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE.  5l 

house  and  he  not  know  it,  or  knowing,  would 
permit  their  continuance 

Tituba  undoubtedly  had  familiarity  with  the 
strange  tricks  and  jugglery  practiced  by  the 
semi-barbarous  races  ;  and,  although  we  know 
nothing  definite  about  it,  is  it  not  reasonable  to 
presume  that  she  exhibited  some  of  these  to 
Elizabeth  Parris  and  Abigail  Williams,  who  lived 
in  the  house  with  her,  and  that  they  told  their 
young  friends  in  the  village  about  the  perform¬ 
ances  ;  that  these  friends  came  secretly  to  wit¬ 
ness  the  mysterious  tricks ;  that  they  were 
instructed  in  the  practice  of  them,  and  did 
practice  them  for  self  amusement  or  the  amaze¬ 
ment  of  other  young  people  ;  and  that  eventually 
the  business  got  noised  abroad  and  came  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  elder  people  ?  They  would 
naturally  institute  an  inquiry.  The  girls,  prob¬ 
ably,  realized  that  if  the  exact  truth  were  known 
to  tneir  eiders  they  would  be  severely  punished; 
possibly  publicly  disciplined  in  church.  To 
prevent  this,  may  they  not  have  claimed  that 
they  could  not  help  doing  as  they  did  ?  They 
undoubtedly  had  some  knowledge  of  witchcraft, 

3 The  writer  knows  of  a  case  in  a  Salem  school  within  recent 
years,  where  a  girl  of  eight  or  ten  years  would  throw  herself 
full  length  on  the  floor,  and  roll  and  writhe,  and  pretend  to  be 
in  the  greatest  agony.  The  teacher  eventually  discovered  the 
imposture,  but  the  girl  continued  her  performances  to  the 
amazement  and  consternation  of  other  school  girls.  When 
told  by  the  teacher  to  “  get  up  ”  she  would  do  so  promptly  and 
go  out  to  play. 


52 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


enough  at  least  to  enable  them  to  make  a  pre¬ 
tense  of  being  bewitched.  The  girls  could  not 
for  a  moment  realize  the  terrible  consequences 
which  were  to  follow.  Having  taken  the  first 
step,  they  were  in  the  position  of  all  who  take  a 
first  step  in  falsehood  or  any  other  wrong  doing, 
another  step  became  necessary,  and  then  anoth¬ 
er.  Then  they  were  probably  commanded  by 
their  elders  to  tell  who  caused  them  to  do  these 
strange  things  ;  or,  as  most  writers  put  it,  who 
afflicted  ”  them.  As  already  stated,  they 
named  Tituba,  Good  and  Osburn.  Is  it  possible 
that  w^e  have  misunderstood  the  first  statements 
of  these  children  ?  Is  it  possible  they  did  not 
C  .  ^  say  Tituba’s  apparition  caused  them  to  do  certain 
^  strange  things,  but  that  they  said  she  taught 
them  ?  Is  it  possible  that  Parris,  to  save  scan¬ 
dal  in  his  own  immediate  household,  made 
Tituba  declare  that  she  had  bewitched  the  girls? 

I  do  not  mean  to  assert  that  this  is  the  correct 
version  of  the  outbreak  of  witchcraft  in  Salem 
Village.  I  only  desire  to  suggest  what  may 
have  been  j  something  which  offers,  perhaps,  a 
rational  explanation  of  the  beginning  of  this 
horrid  nightmare.  Certainly  such  a  course  is  as 
plausible,  as  reasonable,  and  has  as  much  basis 
of  fact  as  any  of  the  theories  heretofore  ad¬ 
vanced.  We  know  nothing  about  these  thingFl 
as  matter  of  absolute  knowledge  ;  all  is  conjee-  J 
ture.  ^ 


THE  OUTBREAK  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE 


53 


At  all  events,  the  children  “  named  ”  the  three 
women  as  their  tormentors.  Joseph  Hutchin¬ 
son,  Edward  Putnam,  Thomas  Putnam  and 
Thomas  Preston  lodged .  complaint  against _Titu- 
ba,  Good  and  Osburn  ;  and  on  Feb.  29,  J onathan 


SALEM  VILLAGE  CHURCH,  1692. 


Corwin  and  John  Hathorne,  the  Salem  magis¬ 
trates,  issued  warrants  for  their  arrest,  the  first 
warrants  issued  for  witchcraft  in  1692.  The  ex¬ 
aminations  were  begun  on  Tuesday,  March  1, 
1692.  They  were  to,  have  been  held  in  the 
house  of  Lieut.  Nathaniel  Ingersoll  in  Salem 
Village,  the  tavern  of  the  place;  but  the  num- 


54 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


bers  who  came  to  witness  the  opening  scene  in 
this  great  drama  of  the  new  world  could  not  be 
accommodated  in  its  rooms,  and  the  court  there¬ 
fore  adjourned  to  the  meeting  house. 

As  Sarah  Good  was  the  first  person  examined 
I  will  deal  with  her  case  first.  Sarah  Good  was 
wife  of  William  Good,  “  laborer.’^  She  is  said 
to  have  been  about  seventy  years  of  age.  Calef 
says^  she  had  long  been  counted  a  melancholy  or 
distracted  woman;  and  Upham  says^  she  was 
broken  down  by  wretchedness  of  condition  and 
ill-repute.  Her  answers  to  the  questions  pro¬ 
pounded  to  her,  as  the  reader  will  see,  give  no 
evidence  of  coming  from  a  person  broken 
down,”  or  forlorn.”  She  appears  to  have 
answered  with  a  fair  degree  of  spirit.  During 
most  of  the  first  week  in  March,  while  on  trial 
before  the  local  magistrates,  Sarah  Good  was 
taken  to  Ipswich  jail  every  night  and  returned 
in  the  morning,  a  distance  of  about  ten  miles 
each  way.  From  the  testimony  of  her  keepers 
and  the  officers  who  escorted  her  to  and  from 
jail,  we  learn  that  she  exhibited  considerable 
animation.  She  leaped  off  her  horse  three  times, 
railed  at  the  magistrates,  and  endeavored  to  kill 
herself.  Putnam  says®  there  is  no  evidence  that 
Sarah  Good  ever  had  trouble  with  any  of  her 
neighbors  or  accusers,  or  that  any  of  them  had 

4Fowler’s  Ed.,  226.  5 Salem  Witchcraft,  II.,  13. 

6  Putnam’s  Witchcraft  Explained,  334. 


THE  OUTBREAK  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE.  55 


hostile  feelings  toward  her.  Evidently  he  had 
never  seen  the  testimony  of  the  Abbeys  and  the 
Gadges.  Samuel  Abbey,  aged  thirty-five,  told 
the  magistrates  that  three  years  previous  to  the 
hearing  William  and  Sarah  Good,  being  destitute 
of  a  house,  came  to  dwell  in  their  house  out  of 
charity  ;  that  they  let  them  live  there  until 
Sarah  Good  was  of  so  turbulent  a  spirit,  spite- 


GADGE  HOUSE,  DANVERS. 

ful  and  so  maliciously  bent  ”  that  they  could  not 
suffer  her  to  live  in  their  house.  Ever  since 
that  time  “  Sarah  Good  hath  carried  it  very 
spitefully  and  malitiously  towards  them.’^  After 
she  had  gone  from  them  they  began  to  lose  cat¬ 
tle,  and  lost  several  “in  an  unusual  manner,  in 
a  drooping  condition,  and  yet  they  would  eat.’^ 


56 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


Altogether  they  lost  seventeen  in  two  years, 
besides  sheep  and  hogs  ;  and  “  both  doe  believe 
they  dyed  of  witchcraft.”  They  further  testi¬ 
fied  that  William  Good  told  them  he  went  home 
one  day  and  told  his  wife  the  Abbeys  had  lost 
two  cows  and  she  said  she  did  not  care  if  the 
Abbeys  had  lost  all  their  cows.  They  concluded 
their  testimony  with  this  remarkable  statement : 

Just  that  very  day  that  the  said  Sarah  Good 
was  taken  up  we  the  deponents  had  a  cow  that 
could  not  rise  alone,  but  since  presently  after 
she  was  taken  up,  the  said  cow  was  well  and 
could  rise  so  well  as  if  she  had  ailed  nothing.^’ 

Sarah  Gadge  deposed  that  Sarah  Good  came  to 
her  house  about  two  and  a  half  years  previously 
and  wanted  to  come  in ;  Gadge  told  her  she 
could  not,  for  she  was  afraid  she  had  been  with 
them  that  had  had  small  pox,  whereupon 
Good  fell  to  muttering  and  scolding.  The  next 
morning  Gadgets  cows  died,  in  a  sudden,  terri¬ 
ble,  and  strange  unusual  manner  soe  that  some 
of  the  neighbors  said  and  deponent  did  think  it 
to  be  done  by  witchcraft.”  The  testimony  of 
these  witnesses  shows  that  some  of  Goodes  ac¬ 
cusers  had  had  personal  encounters  with  her, 
which  may  have  engendered  ill-feeling. 

We  come  now  to  the  examination  of  Sarah 
Good  herself.  It  is  given  here  as  found  on  the 
court  files  in  Salem.  The  warrant  issued  by 
Hathorne  and  Corwin  charged  her  with  “  sus¬ 
picion  of  witchcraft  done  to  Elizabeth  Parris, 


THE  OUTBREAK  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE.  57 

Abigail  W il Hams,  Ann  P,vitiiaiiUwan.d-Jllizabeth 
Hubbard.^  at  sundry  times  within  this  two 
nrCTnths.’^  ^his  warrant  was  returned  with  the 
certificate  of  George  Locker,  constable,  that  he 
had  brought  the  person  of  the  within  named 
Sarah  Good.^^  Her  testimony  was  written  down 
by  Ezekiel  Cheever,  and  is  given  below.  The 
examination  was  on  the  first  and  fifth.  It  is 
quite  evident  that  only  portions  of  the  testi¬ 
mony  were  takun,  and  that  is  interspersed  with 
comments  by  ihe  reporter.  And  here  a  word  of 
caution  may  as  well  be  uttered,  which  will  apply 
not  more  to  Ime  case  of  Sarah  Good  than  to 
others.  All  the  testimony  in  these  trials,  or  ex¬ 
aminations,  berore  the  local  magistrates  was 
taken  by  person^intensely  prejudiced  toward 
the  prosecution,  ^n  reading  it  this  should 
always  be  borne  iq  mind.  Muck  df  ritlA^s 
taken  by  Parris  hims^f.  Knowing  his  feelings, 
and  that  he  was  the  leading  prosecutor .  very 
often,  we  feel  that  he  Vj;pu.ld  be  pretty  sure  to 
devote  more  attention  to  testimony  against  the 
accused  than  to  that  in  their  favor.  In  fact, 
this  is  evidenced  throughout  ^the  records  which 
have  been  preserved.  \ 

The  examination  of  Sarah  Good  before  the 
Worshipfid  Esqrs.  John  Hathorne  and  Jonathan 
Corwin, 

Sarah  Good,  what  evil  spirit  have  you  familiarity  with  ? 
—None. 


58 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


Have  you  made  no  contracts  with  the  devil? — No. 

Why  do  you  hurt  these  children  ? — I  do  not  hurt  them. 

I  scorn  it. 

Who  do  you  employ  then  to  do  it  ? — I  employ  nobody. 

What  creature  do  you  employ  then  ? — No  creature :  but  I 
am  falsely  accused. 

Why  did  you  go  away  muttering  from  Mr.  Parris’s  house  ? 
— I  did  not  mutter,  but  thanked  him  for  what  he  gave  my 
child. 

Have  you  no  contract  with  the  devil? — No. 

Hathorne  desired  the  children  all  of  them  to  look  upon 
her  and  see  if  this  were  the  person  that  hurt  them,  and  so 
they  all  did  look  upon  her  and  said  that  this  was  one  of  the 
persons  that  did  torment  them.  Presently  they  were  all 
tormented.  ^ 

Sarah  Good,  do  you  not  see  now  what  you  have  done  ? 
Why  do  you  not  tell  us  the  truth  ?  Why  do  you  thus  tor¬ 
ment  these  poor  children? — I  do  not  torment  them. 

Who  do  you  employ  then?— I  employ  nobody.  I  scorn 
it.  V 

How  came  they  thus  tormented?— What  do  I  know? 
You  bring  others  here  and  now  you  charge  me  with  it. 

Why  who  was  it?— I  do  not  know  but  it  was  some  you 
brought  into  the  meeting  house  with  you. 

We  brought  you  into  the  meeting-house.— But  you 
brought  in  two  more. 

Who  is  it  then  that  tormented  the  children  ?  It  was  Os- 
burn. 

What  is  it  you  say  when  you  go  muttering  away  from 
person’s  houses  ? — If  I  must  tell  I  will  tell. 

Do  tell  us,  then. — If  I  must  tell,  I  will  tell.  It  is  the 
commandments:  I  may  say  my  commandments,  I  hope. 

What  commandment  is  it  ? — If  I  must  tell  you,  I  will 
tell  ;  it  is  a  psalm. 

What  psalm  ? 

(After  a  long  time  she  muttered  over  some  part  of  a 
psalm.) 

Who  do  you  serve  ?— I  serve  God. 

What  God  do  you  serve  ? — The  God  that  made  heaven 


THE  OUTBREAK  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE.  59 


and  earth  (though  she  was  not  willing  to  mention  the  word 
“  God  ”)•  Her  answers  were  in  a  very  wicked,  spiteful 
manner,  reflecting  and  retorting  against  the  authority  with 
base  and  abusive  words;  and  many  lies  she  was  taken  in. 
It  was  here  said  that  her  husband  had  said  that  she  was 
either  a  witch  or  would  be  one  very  quickly.  The  worship¬ 
ful  Mr.  Hathome  asked  him  his  reason  why  he  said  so  of 
her,  whether  he  had  ever  seen  anything  by  he  .  He  ans¬ 
wered  :  “No,  not  in  this  nature,  hut  it  was  her  bad  carriage 
to  him;  and  indeed,”  said  he,  “  I  may  say  with  tears,  that 
she  is  an  enemy  to  all  good.” 

Here  is  the  account  of  this  examination  of 
Sarah  Good  as  written  down  by  Hathorne  him¬ 
self  : 

Salem  Village,  March  the  first,  1692.  Sarah  Good,  upon 
examination,  denied  the  matter  of  fact,  viz.,  that  she  ever 
used  any  witchcraft  or  hurt  the  above  said  children,  or  any 
of  them.  The  above  named  children,  being  all  present, 
positively  accused  her  of  hurting  them  sundry  times  within 
this  two  months,  and  also  that  morning.  Sarah  Good 
denied  that  she  had  been  at  their  houses  in  said  time  or 
near  them  or  had  done  them  any  hurt.  All  the  above  said 
children  then  present  accused  her  face  to  face.  Upon 
which  they  were  all  dreadfully  tortured  and  tormented  for 
a  short  space  of  time,  and,  the  affliction  and  tortures,  being 
over  they  charged  said  Sarah  Good  again  that  she  had  then 
so  tortured  them,  and  came  to  them  and  did  it,  although 
she  was  personally  then  kept  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  them. 

Sarah  Good  being  asked  if  that  she  did  not  then  hurt 
them,  who  did  it,  and  the  children  being  again  tortured,  she 
looked  upon  them,  and  said  it  was  one  of  them  we  brought 
into  the  house  with  us.  We  asked  her  who  it  was.  She 
then  answered,  and  said  it  was  Sarah  Osburn,  and  Sarah 
Oshum  was  then  under  custody,  and  not  in  the  house,  and 
the  children,  being  quickly  after  recovered  out  of  their  fit, 
said  that  it  was  Sarah  Good  and  also  Sarah  Osburn  that 


60 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


then  did  hurt  and  torment  or  afflict  them,  although  both  of 
them  at  the  same  time  at  a  distance  or  remote  from  them 
personally.  There  were  also  sundry  other  questions  put  to 
her,  and  answers  given  thereunto  by  her  according  as  is  also 
given  in. 

On  March  7,  Good,  with  Osburn  and  Tituba, 
was  sent  to  the  jail  in  Boston.  There  she  re¬ 
mained  until  June  28  when  the  grand  jury  pre¬ 
sented  an  indictment  against  her  as  follows  : 

The  jurors  for  our  soverign  Lord  and  Lady,  the  King 
and  Queen,  present  that  Sarah  Good,  wife  of  William  Good 
of  Salem  Village,  husbandman,  the  second  day  of  May  in 
the  fourth  year  of  the  reigne  of  our  soverein  Lord  and 
Lady,  William  and  Mary,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of  England^, 
Scotland,  France  and  Ireland,  King  and  Queen,  defenders 
of  the  faith  &c. ,  and  divers  other  days  and  times,  as  well 
before  as  after,  certain  detestable  arts  called  witchcraft  and 
sorceries,  wickedly  and  feloniously  hath  used,  practiced 
and  exercised,  at  and  within  the  township  of  Salem  within 
the  county  of  Essex  aforesaid,  in  upon  and  against  one 
Sarah  Vibber,  wife  of  John  Vibber,  of  Salem  aforesaid, 
husbandman,  by  which  said  wicked  arts  she,  said  Sarah 
Vibber,  the  said  second  day  of  May  in  the  fourth  year 
abovesaid  and  divers  other  days  and  times  as  well  before  as 
after,  was  and  is  afflicted,  pined,  consumed,  wasted  and 
tormented,  and  also  for  sundry  other  acts  of  witchcraft  by 
said  Sarah  Good  committed  and  done,  before  and  since  that 
time,  against  the  peace  of  our  sovereign  Lord  and  Lady, 
the  King  and  Queen,  their  crown  and  dignity  and  against 
the  forme  of  the  statute  in  that  case  made  and  provided. 

A  second  indictment  charged  her  with  prac¬ 
ticing  the  same  arts  on  Elizabeth  Hubbard,  a 
third  charged  a  similar  offence  committed  on 
Ann  Putnam.  The  time  alleged  in  the  last  two 
indictments  was  March  1,  which,  it  will  be  re- 


SARAH  OSBUBN  HOUSE. 


THE  OUTBREAK  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE.  61 

membered,  was  the  date  of  the  preliminary  ex¬ 
amination.  During  the  trial  of  these  cases  De¬ 
liverance  Hobbs  gave  a  ‘‘  confession  ”  as  follows  : 

“  Beings  at  a  meeting  of  the  witches  in  Mr.  Parris’s  field 
when  Mr.  Burroughs  preached  and  administered  the  sacra¬ 
ment  to  them,  saw  Sarah  Good  among  the  rest  and  this 
fully  agrees  with  what  the  afflicted  relate.” 

Abigail  Hobbs  testified  that  she  was  in  com¬ 
pany  with  Sarah  Good  and  knows  her  to  be  a 
witch,  and  af ter^ards^  was~*taken  (leafT^ and 
Mary  Waleott-#arW--GotTd^Tm:iri^^  run  their 
fingers  into  this  (deponent’s)  ears  and  a  little 
after  she  spoke  and  said  Good  told  her  she 
should  not  speak.”  Mary  Warren  confessed  that 

Sarah  Good  is  a  witch  and  brought  her  the 
book  to  sign.” 

William  Batten,  William  Shaw  and  Deborah 
Shaw  testified  that  Susan  Sheldon’s  hands  were 
tied  in  such  a  manner  that  they  were  forced  to 
cut  the  string.  Sheldon  told  them  it  was  Good 
Dustin  that  tied  her  hands  ;  that  she  had  been 
thus  tied  four  times  in  two  weeks,  “  the  two  last 
times  by  Sarah  Good.”  They  further  declared 
that  whenever  she  touched  the  string  she  was 
bit ;  also  to  a  broom  being  carried  out  of  the 
house  and  being  put  in  a  tree. 

Johanna  Chilburn  testified  that  the  appari¬ 
tion  of  Sarah  Go^d  and  her  last  child  appeared 
to  deponent  and  told  her  that  its  mother  mur¬ 
dered  it ;  ”  that  Good  said  she  did  it  because  she 


62 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


could  not  attend  it ;  that  the  child  told  its 
mother  she  was  a  witch,  and  then  “  Sarah  Good 
said  she  did  give  it  to  the  devil.’’ 

Henry  Herrick  testified  that  Sarah  Good  came 
to  his  father’s  house  and  desired  to  lodge  there ; 
his  father  forbade  it,  and  she  went  away  grumb¬ 
ling.  Being  followed  and  forbidden  to  sleep  in 
the  barn,  she  replied  that  it  would  cost  his 
father  one  or  two  of  his  best  cows.  Jonathan 
Batchelder  added  to  this  that  about  a  week  after 
two  of  his  “  master  cattle  ”  were  removed  and 
younger  cattle  put  in  their  places,  and  since 
then  several  cattle  had  been  let  loose  in  a 
strange  manner. 

Elizabeth  Hubbard,  one  of  the  afflicted,  saw 
the  apparition  of  Sarah  Good,  “  who  did  most 
grieviously  afflict  her  by  pinching  and  prick¬ 
ing,”  and  so  continued  hurting  her  until  the  first 
day  of  March,  and  then  tortured  her  on  that 
day,  the  day  of  her  examination.  She  had  also 
seen  the  apparition  of  Sarah  Good  afflict  Eliza¬ 
beth  Parris,  Abigail  Williams,  Ann  Putnam  and 
Sarah  Vibber.  ‘‘One  night,”  she  continued, 
“  Samuel  Sibley,  that  was  attending  me,  struck 
Sarah  Good  on  the  arm.”  Susannah  Sheldon 
said  she  had  been  most  grievously  tortured  by 
the  apparition  of  Sarah  Good  “  biting,  pricking, 
pinching  and  almost  choking  me  to  death.”  On 
Tune  26,  1692,  Good  most  violently  pulled  her 
iown  behind  a  chest  and  tied  her  hands  togeth- 


THE  OUTBREAK  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE.  63 


er  with  a  wheel  band  and  choked  her,  and  Wil¬ 
liam  Battis  and  Thomas  Buffinton  were  forced 
to  cut  the  band  from  her  hands,  for  they  could 
not  untie  it.  During  the  examination  of  Good 
this  girl  pretended  to  be  afflicted,  and  said 
Sarah  Good,  by  invisible  hands,  took  a  censer 
off  the  table  and  cari;^ed  it  out  doors.  Here  is 
the  deposition  of  Ann  Putnam  : 

The  deposition  of  Ann  Putnam,  Jr.,  who  testifieth  and 
saith  that  on  the  25th  of  February,  1691-92,  I  saw  the  appa¬ 
rition  of  Sarah  Good  which  did  torture  me  most  greviously, 
but  I  did  not  know  her  name  until  the  27th  of  February, 
and  then  she  told  me  her  name  was  Sarah  Good.  And 
then  she  did  pinch  me  most  greviously,  and  also  since,  sev¬ 
eral  times  urging  me  vehemently  to  write  in  her  hook.  And 
also  on  the  first  of  March,  being  the  day  of  her  examina¬ 
tion,  Sarah  Good  did  most  greviously  torture  me,  and  also 
several  times  since.  And  also  on  the  first  day  of  March, 
1692,  I  saw  the  apparition  of  Sarah  Good  go  and  afflict  the 
bodies  of  Elizabeth  Parris,  Abigail  Williams  and  Elizabeth 
Hubbard.  Also  I  have  seen  the  apparition  of  Sarah  Good  .. 

afflicting  the  body  of  Sarah  Vihher.  mark 

Ann  X  Putnam. 

Sarah  Vibber,  a  woman  36  years  of  age,  testi¬ 
fied  that  Good  tortured  Mercy  Lewis  on  April  11, 
and  herself  on  May  2,  by  pressing  her  breath 
almost  out,  and  also  afflicted  her  infant  so  that 
she  and  Vibber  could  not  hold  it.  Since  then  , 
the  apparition  of  Sarah  Good  had  pinched,  beati, 
and  choked  her,  and  pricked  her  with  pins. 
Subsequently,  one  night,  Good’s  apparition  came 
into  her  room,  pulled  down  the  clothes  and 
looked  at  her  four  years  old  child,  and  it  had  a 
great  fit. 


i.f-  I  < 
'  ♦ 


64  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


During  this  trial  one  of  the  witnesses  who  sat 


in  the  room  cried  out  that  Good  had  stabbed 
her,  and  had  broken  the  knife-blade  in  so  doing, 
^^rhe  point  of  the  blade  was  taken  from  her 


clothes  where  she  said  she  was  stabbed.  There¬ 


upon  a  young  man  arose  in  the  court  and  stated 


^  broke  that  very  knife  the  previous  day 


and  threw  away  the  point.  He  produced  the 


remaining  part  of  the  knife.  It  was  then  ap- 
parent  that  the  girl  had  picked  up  the  point 


which  he  threw  away  and  put  it  in  the  bosom  of 


her  dress,  whence  she  drew  it  to  corroborate  her 


statement  that  some  one  had  stabbed  her.  She 


a. 

had  deliberately  falsified,  and  used  the  knife¬ 


point  to  reinforce  the  falsehood.  If  she  was 
false  in  this  statement,  why  not  in  all  ?  If  one 
girl  falsified,  how  do  we  know  whom  to  be¬ 
lieve? 

The  most  remarkable  witness  in  this  case,  and 
in  respect  to  age,  the  most  remarkable  in  this 
whole  history,  was  Dorcas  Good.  Dorcas 
was  daughter  of  the  accused  Sarah  Good,  and 
only  five  years  of  age.  She  was  called  to  testi¬ 
fy  against  her  own  mother.  Her  evidence  was 
merely  that  her  mother  had  three  birds,  one 
black,  one  yellow,  and  these  birds  hurt  the 
children  and  afilicted  persons.^^  Ib  may  be  as 
well  to  dispose  of  little  Dorcas  and  her  part  in 
the  witchcraft  tragedy  at  this  point  as  later. 
She  was  herself  accused  of  being  a  witch,  and 
three  depositions  against  her  are  on  the  files. 


THE  OUTBREAK  IK  SALEM  VILLAGE.  65 


“The  deposition  of  Mercy  Lewis,  aged  about  nineteen 
years,  who  testefieth  and  saith  that  on  the  2d  of  April, 
1692,  the  apperishtion  of  Dorrithy  Good,  Sarah  Good’s 
daughter,  came  to  me  and  did  afflict  me,  urging  me  to 
write  in  her  book  and  several  times  since  Dorothy  Good 
hath  afflicted  me,  biting,  pinching  and  choaking  me,  urging 
me  to  write  in  her  book.” 


Mary  Walcott  deposed  that  March  21,  “  saw 
the  apparition  of  Dorcas  Good  come  to  her,  bit 
her,  pinched  her  and  afflicted  her  most  griev- 
iously,  also  almost  choking  her  and  urged  her  to 
write  in  a  book.’’  Ann  Putnam  testified  to  the 
same  sort  of  torment  in  almost  the  exact  words 
of  Walcott.  Dorcas  was  committed  to  jail  with 
her  mother.  We  have  no  further  record  of  her. 
Whether  she  was  ever  tried  is  not  known  ;  prob¬ 
ably  not.  Certainly  she  was  not  executed. 

Sarah  Good  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to 
be  hanged.  She  was  executed  on  July  19.  Rev. 
Mr.  Noyes,  who  was  present,  told  her  as  she 
stood  on  the  scaffold,  You  are  a  witch,  and  you 
know  you  are  a  witch.”  You  are  a  liar,”  was 
her  indignant  reply ;  I  am  no  more  a  witch 
than  you  are  a  wizzard,  and  if  you  take  my  life, 
God  will  give  you  blood  to  drink.”^ 

Sarah  Osburn  was  about  sixty  years  of  age  in 
1692.  Her  husband  was  Alexander  Osburn. 
Thirty  years  before,  she  had  been  married  to 
Robert  Prince,  and  still  earlier  to  Thomas  Small, 
both  of  whom  were  dead.  Osburn  came  over 


7  Calef,  Fowler’s  Ed.,  250. 


66 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


from  Ireland  a  few  years  previous  to  1692, 
bound  to  service  for  a  term  of  years  to  one  of 
the  settlers  in  the  Village,  in  consideration  of  a 
sum  of  money  advanced  to  pay  his  expenses  to 
this  country.  The  widow  Prince,  needing  some 
one  to  manage  her  farm,  bought  out  his  unex¬ 
pired  time  for  fifteen  pounds.  He  carried  on 
the  farm  for  a  short  time  and  then  married  the 
widow.8  Their  earlier  life  together  and  subse¬ 
quent  marriage  naturally  gave  rise  to  some  gos¬ 
sip  of  an  uncomplimentary  nature.  This, 
^^undoubtedly,  was  one  of  the  inducements  for  the 
■  \  accusing  girls  to  ^‘Cry  out’^  against  her  among 
the  first.  The  Osburns  appear  to  have  been  in 
yj.  comfortable  circumstances.  Their  greatest  cross 
was  the  illness  which  confined  the  wife  to  her 
5^^  -  bed  much  of  the  time.  Both  were  members  of 
t  the  church,  and  so  far  as  we  know,  they  were 

“  devout  Christians,  sober  and  industrious  citi¬ 
zens. 

Sarah  Osburn  was  examined  before  the  local 
magistrates  on  the  first,  second  and  third  of 
March.  No  particularly  new  or  interesting  facts 
were  developed.  Her  examination  was  very 
nearly  a  repetition  of  the  proceedings  in  the 
case  of  Sarah  Good.  She  denied  having  famil¬ 
iarity  with  any  evil  spirit,  or  having  made  any 
contract  with  the  devil,  and  said  she  did  not 
hurt  the  children  or  employ  any  one  to  hurt 


8  Salem  Witchcraft,  II.,  17. 


THE  OUTBREAK  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE.  67 

them.  Mr.  Hathorne/’  says  Cheever’s  report, 
“  desired  all  the  children  to  stand  up  and  look 
upon  her,  and  see  if  they  did  not  know  her, 
which  they  all  did.  And  every  one  of  them 
said  that  this  was  one  of  the  women  that  did 
afflict  them,  and  that  they  had  constantly  seen 
her  in  the  very  habit  she  was  now  in.  Three 
evidences  declared  that  she  said  this 
morning  that  she  was  more  like  to  be 
bewitched  than  that  she  was  a  witch.  Mr. 
Hathorne  asked  what  made  her  say  so.  She 
answered  that  she  was  frightened  one  time  in 
her  sleep,  and  either  saw  or  dreamed  she  saw  a 
thing  like  an  Indian,  all  black,  which  did  pinch 
her  in  the  neck,  and  pulled  her  by  the  back  part 
of  her  head  to  the  door  of  the  house.’’  The 
woman  was  sent  to  jail  in  Boston.  There  she 
died.  The  excitement  and  mental  strain  of  the 
arrest  and  examination,  the  exposure  in  going  to 
and  from  Ipswich  jail,  and  the  hardships  of  jail 
life  in  Boston,  together  with  the  ill-treatment 
and  brutality  to  which  all  the  accused  were  sub¬ 
jected,  proved  fatal  to  this  feeble  old  woman. 
The  last  record  in  her  case  is  this  bill  of  the 
Boston  jailer  :  ‘‘  To  chains  for  Sarah  Good  and 
Sarah  Osburn,  14  shillings.  To  the  keeping  of 
Sarah  Osburn  from  the  7th  March  to  10  May, 
when  she  died,  being  nine  weeks  and  two  days, 
1£.  3s.  5d.”^  In  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word. 


9  Essex  Court  Records. 


68 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


Sarah  Osburn  was  one  of  the  victims  of  the 
witchcraft  delusion  of  1692. 

Tituba,  in  the  course  of  her  examination,  told 
a  rambling  and  somewhat  disjointed  story,  evi¬ 
dently  due  partly  to  her  want  of  comprehension 
of  the  English  language,  and  the  broken  English 
in  which  she  was  obliged  to  reply.  Asked  if  she 
ever  went  on  a  witch  expedition  with  Good  and 
Osburn,  she  replied  ;  “  They  are  very  strong  and 
pull  me,  and  make  me  go  with  them.’’  Where 
did  you  go,”  asked  the  magistrate.  ‘‘Up  to 
Mr.  Putnam’s  and  make  me  hurt  the  chTld.” 
“  WEo^d^ake  you  go^?^''‘‘A'''manlih^‘  i^  very 
strong,  and  these  two  women.  Good  and  Osburn, 
but  I  am  sorry.”  “  How  did  you  go  ?  What 
do  you  ride  upon?”  “  I  ride  upon  a  stick  or 
pole,  and  Good  and  Osburn  behind  me  ;  we  ride 
taking  hold  of  one  another  ;  I  don’t  know  how 
we  go,  for  I  saw  no  trees  or  path,  but  was  pres¬ 
ently  there  when  we  were  up.”  She  declared 
that  she  never  practiced  witchcraft  in  her  own 
country.  Asked  what  sights  she  saw  when  she 
went  abroad,  she  replied  :  “  I  see  a  man,  a  dog, 
a  hog,  and  two  cats,  a  black  and  red,  and  the 
strange  monster  was  Osburn’s  that  I  mentioned 
before,  this  was  the  hairy  imp.  The  man  would 
give  it  to  me  but  I  would  not  have  it.”  To  the 
jail  in  Boston  went  Tituba  also.  Calef  says  she 
was  “  afterwards  committed  to  prison  and  lay 
there  until  sold  for  her  fees.”  She  declared 


THE  OUTBREAK  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE,  69 

that  her  master  beat  her  aod  otherwise  abused 
her  to  ma^~Tief  confess"  and  accuse  others  of 
witchcraft ;  that  whatev^  she  said  by  way  of 
accusing  others  was  because  of  such  treatment, 
and  that  her  master  refused  to  pay  her  fees  un¬ 
less  she  would  stand  to  her  confession.^®  Drate 
says  Tituba  was  sold  to  pay  her  prison  fees  after 
lying  there  thirteen  months.^^  She  was  never 
tried  before  any  court. 

10  Fowler’s  Ed.,  227.  11  Annals  of  N.  E.,  190. 


CORNER  OF  JUDGE  COBWIN  HOUSE. 


Gov.  Phips  arrived  in  Boston  on 
May  14,  1692,  he  found  the  jails 
filled  with  persons  accused  of  witch¬ 
craft.  No  courts  existed ;  they  had  fallen  with  the 
provisional  government  ”  which  succeeded  the 
Andros  administration.  The  charter  that  Phips 
brought  over  empowered  the  General  Court  to 
erect  and  constitute  judicatories  and  courts  of 
record  or  other  courts,  of  which  the  Governor 
was  to  appoint  the  judgesd  No  meeting  of  the 
General  Court  could  be  held  until  after  an  elec¬ 
tion  of  members,  which  must  be  two  or  three 
weeks  later.  Immediate  trial  of  the  accused 
was  demanded  as  their  right,  and  also  to  relieve 
the  overcrowded  condition  of  the  jails.  It  had 
long  been  the  custom  in  England,  in  cases  of 
emergency,  for  the  king  to  appoint  Commission¬ 
ers  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  to  hear  and  decide 
the  causes.®  In  the  absence  of  courts  and  as  the 

1  Province  charter,  1692.  Province  Laws,  I.,  1. 

2  Chitty’s  Blackstone,  Book  IV.,  221. 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OF  TRIAL.  71 


personal  representative  of  the  King,  no  doubt, 
Gov.  Phips  issued  a  commission  for  a  court  of 
Oyer  and  Terminer.®  He  appointed  the  com¬ 
missioners  on  May  27.  William  Stoughton,  the 
deputy  governor,  was  named  first  and  always 
presided  as  chief  justice.  His  previous  political 


CHIEF  JUSTICE  STOUGHTON. 


affiliations  had  made  him  somewhat  unpopular 
with  the  people.  As  a  candidate  for  a  judicial 
position  under  the  preceding  administration,  he 

3 “May  27,  1692.  Upon  consideration  that  there  are  many 
criminal  offenders  now  in  custody  some  whereof  have  lyen  long 
and  many  inconveniences  attending  the  thronging  of  the  goals 
at  this  hot  season  of  the  year,  there  being  no  judacatories  or 
courts  of  justices  yet  established.”  Preamble  to  order  of 
Council  establishing  the  court.  Ex.  Reed.,  II.,  176. 


72 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


received  not  a  single  vote.**  Stoughton  was  edu¬ 
cated  for  the  ministry  and  not  the  law,  but  all 
accounts  agree  that  he  was  a  very  able  man.  He 
was  not  without  judicial  experience,  for  he  sat 
with  Dudley  and  others  at  the  trial  of  Mary 
Glover  in  1688,  Stoughton  was  a  great  friend 
of  the  Mathers.  To  this  friendship  and  to  his 
acknowledged  ability  he  undoubtedly  owed  his 
appointment  in  1692.  His  associates  on  the 
commission  were  Nathaniel  Saltonstall  of  Haver¬ 
hill,  Major  Bartholomew  Gedney,  John  Hath- 
orne  and  Jonathan  Corwin  of  Salem,  Major 
John  Eichards,  Wait  Winthrop,  Peter  Sargent 
and  Capt.  Samuel  Sewall,  of  Boston.  Salton¬ 
stall  withdrew  soon  after  his  appointment, 
probably  immediately  after  the  first  sitting  of 
the  court,  at  which  Bridget  Bishop  was  tried, 
because  he  was  very  much  dissatisfied  with  the 
proceedings  of  it.’’* 

The  men  who  constituted  this  commission,  or 
court,  were  among  the  ablest  in  the  colony. 
None  stood  higher  in  the  social  scale  ;  none  in 
the  colony  were  better  qualified  for  the  work  of 
the  bench.  On  the  great  question  of  the  hour, 
they  entertained  substantially  the  same  views  as 
the  jurists  of  England,  and  in  their  subsequent 
acts  were  governed  by  the  rules  laid  down  by 
the  English  courts  in  numerous  cases,  although 

4  Bancroft’s  Hist.  U.  S.,  II..  268. 

5  Brattle,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  I-V.,  76. 


JUDGE  SAMUEL  SEWALL. 


I 


I 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OF  TRIAL.  73 


possibly  they  did  not  always  protgcfc^fliguciglits 
of^cused  persons  as  carefully  as  the  English 
judges  did.  ,  Thomas  Newton,  a  trained  lawyer, 
was  appointed  special  king’s  attorney  for  the 
trial  of  the  witchcraft  cases,  and  prepared  the 
earlier  ones  for  the  court,  after  which  he  re¬ 
signed  and  the  attorney  general,  Anthony 
Checkley,  took  charge  of  the  prosecution. 
Checkley  had  been  attorney  general  since  1689, 
having  been  first  chosen  by  ^^the  governor, 
council  and  assembly,”  in  that  year  and  recom¬ 
missioned  by  Phips  on  July  27,  1692.  The 
fact  that  none  of  these  judges  were  educated  for 
the  bar  has  been  emphasized  by  some  writers  on 
the  witchcraft  troubles  of  1692.  That  is  true, 
but  these  men  probably  knew  as  much  about  the 
law  of  witchcraft  as  any  lawyers  in  America  at 
that  time ;  perhaps  more  than  most  of  them. 
Thej^^isofl  in  aflCordauceAKith  distin¬ 

guished  English  precedents,  and  it  is  very  mjach 
to  be  doubted  ^whether  the  result  would  have  been 
any  different  had  lawyers  occupied  the  bench. 
The  office  of  sheriff  was  substituted  for  that  of 
marshal,  and  George  Corwin,  a  relative  of  Jpna- 
than  Corwin,  appointed  to  ^e  new  office.  Mar¬ 
shal  Herrick  was  appointed  a  deputy  sheriff.  Per¬ 
sons  accused  of  witchcraft  were  committed  to  the 
Salem.  Boston.'  Ipswich  an J .Cambridge. 
Most  of  those  first  committed  b^  the  magis- 
trateg^o  awaltrthe  "action  of  jbhe  highe r  co urt 


74  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

were  sent  to  Boston,  as  up  to  this  time  all  capi- 
tal  trial^TT^  taheh  place  tlrer^ After  the  trials 
wer^Benun  in  Salem,  prisoners  were  committed 
to  the  jail  in  that  town.® 

The  preliminary  trials  or  examinations  of  the 
accused  were  held  in  Nathaniel  IngersolBs  tav¬ 
ern  and  in  the  meeting  house  in  Salem  Village, 
now  Danvers  ;  in  the  meeting-house  in  the  town 
of  Salem  on  the  site  of  the  present  First  Church, 
or  in  Thomas  Beadle’s  house,  or  tavern,  on 
Essex  street.  Nearly  all  the_^au&ed-^~^ere 
finally'  tried  in  the  court  house  that  stood  in 
what  jscas  then  Town-house  lane,  now  Wash  in  g- 
toj^jtreet,  about  opposite  the  end  of  Lynde 
street,  Salem.  Some,  perhaps,  were  tried  in  the 
Salem  meetinghouse. 

There'  is  a  tradition  that  trials  or  examinations 
of  some  kind  were  held  in  the  Koger  Williams 
house  on  the  corner  of  Essex  and  North  streets. 
No  direct  evidence  of  this  exists.  The  court  of 
Oyer  and  Terminer  never  sat  there.  The  house  ' 
was  occupied  at  the  time  by  Jonathan  Corwin, 
and  no  doubt  complaints  were  there  made  to  him 
against  suspected  persons,  and  warrants  for 
their  arrest  issued.  Possibly  grand  jury  delib¬ 
erations  were  held  in  the  house  while  trials 
were  being  held  in  the  court  house.  In  all 

6  The  Salem  jail  was  located  on  Prison  Lane,  now  St.  Peter 
street,  on  the  comer  of  the  present  Federal  street,  and  some  of 
the  timbers  of  the  old  building  are  contained  in  the  frame  of 
Mr.  A.  C.  Goodell’s  house  near  this  corner,  on  Federal  street. 


JUDGE  CORWIN  OR  ROGER  WILLIAMS  HOUSE.  (AS  IT  WAS  ABOUT  1850.) 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OF  TRIAL 


75 


76 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


probability  it  had  some  connection  with  the 
witchcraft  prosecutions.  The  tradition  has  been 
handed  down  with  too  much  directness  to  admit 
of  serious  doubt. 


Wli^IS,^^re^  the  witchcraft  victims  hanged  ? 
No  one  knows  as  matter  of  absolute  certainty. 
Tiie  tradition  has  always  been  that  Gallows  hill, 
between  Salem  and  Peabody,  was  the  scene  of 
the  executions.  No  other  place  has  ever  beeh 
seriously  suggested.  The  records  do -not  thr^w, 
light  upon,  this  question,  but  the  tradition  is 
hardly  open  to  doubt.  The  earliest  writings  in 
which  I  find  mention  of  this  hill  as  the  place  of 
execution  bear  date  about  one  hundred  years 
after  the  event.  Two  lives  might  well  have 
spanned  that  period  —  certainly  three  did  in  in¬ 
numerable  instances  ;  so  that  the  story  could 
hardly  have  been  misunderstood  or  misstated  in 
e  transmissions.  A  letter  written  in  Salem, 
Nov.  25,  1791,  by  E,ev.  Dr.  Holyoke,  furnishes 
the  following  information  :  “In  the  last  month 
here  died  a  man  in  this  town,  by  the  name  of 
John  Symonds,  aged  a  hundred  years  lacking 
about  six  months,  having  been  born  in  the  fa¬ 
mous  ’92.  He  has  told  me  that  his  nurse  had 
often  told  him,  that  while  she  was  attending  his 
I  mother  at  the  time  she  lay  in  with  him,  she  saw 
from  the  chamber  windows,  those  unhappy  peo- 
ple  hanging  on  Gallows  hill,  who  were  executed 
for  witches  by  the  delusion  of  the  times.”  A 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OF  TRIAL.  77 

family  of  the  name  of  Symonds  lived,  many 
years  ago,  on  Bridge  street,  Salem,  near  the 
bridge  leading  to  Beverly.  From  that  spot  Gal¬ 
lows  hill  was  plainly  visible.  Symonds  fami¬ 
lies  also  lived  in  North  Salem  then,  and  the  hill 
could  be  easily  seen  from  ^there.  A  writer  in 
the  Salem  Register  about  1880,  stated  that  an 
elderly  citizen  had  told  him  that  he  had  traced 
the  ancient  path  to  the  summit  of  the  hill.  It 
did  not  lead  from  Boston  street,  as  now,  but 
from  the  old  pasture  entrance  at  the  head  of 
Broad  street.  This  same  elderly  citizen  remem¬ 
bered  the  oak  tree  that  stood  on  the  hill  and  had 
been  used  as  a  gallows,  and  pointed  out  the  place 
where  it  stood  in  his  younger  days.* 

Th^ew  court  of  Oyer  aiidM[?erminer  sat  for 
the  firaT^ime  in  Salem  in  June,  for- the  purpose 
of  trying  Bridget  Bishop.  There  are  no  com¬ 
pile  records  of  this  court  now  extant.  Our  in¬ 
formation  of  its  proceedings  is  obtained  mainly 
from  the  loose  papers  on  file  in  the  court  house 

*  After  long  and  careful  investigation  I  am  convinced  that 
the  condemned  persons  were  hanged  near  the  head  of  what  is 
now  Nichols  street,  on  the  hill,  a  little  to  the  south  east,  per¬ 
haps;  and  the  bodies  were  buried  near  the  head  of  Hanson 
street.  Caleb  BufEum,  who  lived  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  and 
made  coffins,  is  said  by  his  descendants  to  have  assisted  in 
conveying  the  bodies  to  the  North  river,  whence  they  were 
taken  away  in  boats  by  relatives  or  friends. 

There  was  a  tavern  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  Nichols 
house  at  the  head  of  Proctor’s  court,  and  there,  on  execution 
day,  tradition  in  the  Buffum  family  says,  the  crowd  would 
gather  to  drink  and  make  merry,  many  getting  drunk. 


78 


WITCHCRAFT  IX  SALEM  VILLAGE 


SITE  OF  COURT  HOUSE  (1C92),  SALEM. 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OF  TRIAL.  79 

in  Salem  and  the  state  house  in  Boston.  Quite 
a  number  of  valuable  and  interesting  papers 
have,  from  time  to  time,  been  deposited  with  the 
Essex  Institute  in  Salem  and  the  historical  so¬ 
cieties  of  Boston.  The  dates  of  the  sessions  of 
the  court  are  found  in  the  History  of  Massachu¬ 
setts  written  by  Gov.  Hutchinson.  Hutchinson 
is  supposed  to  have  had  access  to  the  court 
record,  but  the  dates  which  he  mentions  are  un¬ 
questionably  misleading.  For  instance,  when 
he  says  that  six  persons,  whom  he  names,  were 
tried  and  convicted  on  August  5,^  we  know,  that 
this  was  not  possible.  It  would  take  more  than 
a  day  to  hear  the  testimony  we  now  have  in  the 
cases.  How  much  more  there  was  then  it  is  not 
possible  to  say  ;  doubtless  considerable.®  Some 
time  must  have  been  consumed  in  empanelling 
juries  and  returning  and  recording  verdicts. 
Still  more,  we  know  that  much  time  was  wasted 
by  reason  of  the  fits  and  afilictions  ”  of  the 
witnesses  and  the  accusers.  Jiuidag-the-^r^ial.  of 
Qiie  of  these  very  cases  that  Hutchinson  alleges 
wusTfred  ou  Augustr'^'Tfie  report  saysT  ‘  ^  It  cost 
thp  p.nnrh  l)f  trouble’ to  hear 

thj>  tjhey 

7  Hist.  Mass.,  II.,  55-58. 

8  Clerk  Stephen  Sewall  wrote  in  the  case  of  Rebecca  Nurse  : 
“In  this  Tryall  are  Twenty  Papers,  besides  this  judgment  & 
there  were  in  this  tryall  as  well  as  other  Trj'alls  of  ye  same  na¬ 
ture  severall  evidences  vive  voce  which  were  not  written  and 
80 1  can  give  no  copies  of  them.’* 


80 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


were  going  to  give  in.  t.heiL.deposiliiQns_l^^ 
would  for  a  long  while  be  taken  with  fits,  etc/^ 
Thomas  IN’ewton,  the  attorney  general,  wrote  to 


the  clerk  :  I  fear  we  shall  not  this  week  try 
all  we  have  sent  for,  by  reason  the  trials  will  be 
tedious,  and  the  afflicted  persons  cannot  readily 
give  their  testimony,  being  struck  dumb  and 
senseless  for  a  season.’^  The  probability  is  that 
the  dates  mentioned  by  Hutchinson  and  others 
as  days  of  trial,  were  the  days  on  which  sentence 
was  pronounced.  Aug^s^  ^  Friday;  Sep; 
tember  9  was  Friday,  and  September  ,17 ..was 
Saturday.  These  would  very“natiTl*aTTy  be  sentence 
days,  but  certainly  not  days  on  which  the  court 
would  come  in  to  begin  the  trial  of  a  half  dozen 
important  cases.  Furthermore,  the  papers  on 
file  show  that  Burroughs,  who,  Hutchinson  says 
was  tried  on  August  5,  was  on  trial  on  the  2d 
and  3rd  of  that  month. s  His  trial  probably  was 
begun  on  the  2d  and  was  finished  on  or  before 
the  5th.  Most  testimony  before  the  grand  in¬ 
quest  was  written  down  when  given,  and  at  the 
jury  trials  read  to  the  court  and  sworn  to  by 
the  witness.  Sometimes  it  was  called  testimony 
and  at  others,  deposition. 

The  trial  of  Bridget  Bishop  was  held  the  first 


SWhenIspeak  of  “trials,”  I  include  the  examinations  be¬ 
fore  the  grand  jury,  for  most  of  the  time  was  occupied  in  taking 
testimony  there.  Before  the  jury  of  trials,  when  this  testimony 
/  was  read,  the  aihicted  often  created  scenes  of  confusion,  and 
I  had  fits,  ^ipd  otherwise  interrupted  the  proceedings. 


COTTON  MATHER’S  GRAVE,  BOSTON. 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OF  TRIAL 


81 


82 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


week  in  June.  Most  of  the  depositions  and 
testimony  against  her  are  dated  June  2.  This 
was  probably  the  date  on  which  they  were 
taken  before  the  grand  jury  not  that  of  the  day 
they  were  given  before  the  jury  of  trials.  She 
was  convicted,  and  hanged  on  June  10,  Friday. 
The  court  then  adjourned  to  the  28th  of  June. 

The  newly  elected  General  Court  convened  in 
Boston  in  the  mean  time,  June  8.  The  judges, 
before  they  resumed  business,  in  accordance 
with  a  time-honored  custom,  united  with  the 
Governor  and  council  in  requesting  the  opinion 
of  the  ministers  of  the  churches  in  and  around 
Boston  on  the  momentous  question  then  pend¬ 
ing.  The  answer,  written  by  Cotton  Mather, 
was  a  calm,  judicious  paper.  After  acknowledg¬ 
ing  the  success  which  God  had  given  to  “  the 
sedulous  and  assiduous  endeavors  of  the  rulers 
to  defeat  the  abominable  witchcrafts,’^  they 
prayed  that  the  discovery  of  those  mysterious 
and  mischievious  wickednesses  might  be  per¬ 
fected.”  They  continue : 

“  We  judge  that,  in  the  prosecution  of  these  and  all 
such  witchcrafts  there  is  need  of  a  very  critical  and  ex¬ 
quisite  caution,  lest  by  too  much  credulity  for  things 
received  only  upon  the  devil’s  authority,  there  be  a  door 
opened  for  a  long  train  of  miserable  consequences,  and 
Satan  get  an  advantage  over  us  ;  for  we  should,  not  be 
ignorant  of  his  devices. 

As  in  complaints  upon  witchcraft  there  may  be  matters 
of  inquiry  which  do  not  amount  unto  matters  of  presump¬ 
tion,  and  there  may  bo  matters  of  presumption  which  yet 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OP  TRIAL.  83 


may  not  be  matters  of  conviction,  so  it  is  necessary  that  all 
proceedings  thereabout  be  managed  with  an  exceeding  ten¬ 
derness  toward  those  that  may  be  complained  of,  especially 
if  they  have  been  persons  formerly  of  an  unblemished  rep¬ 
utation. 

"When  the  first  inquiry  is  made  into  the  circumstances  of 
such  as  may  lie  under  the  just  suspicion  of  witchcrafts,  we 
could  wish  that  there  may  be  admitted  as  little  as  possible 
of  such  noise,  company  and  openness  as  may  too  hastily 
expose  them  that  are  examined,  and  that  there  may  be 
nothing  used  as  a  test  for  the  trial  of  the  suspected,  the 
lawfulness  whereof  may  be  doubted  by  the  people  of  God, 
but  that  the  directions  given  by  such  judicious  writers  as 
Perkins  and  Barnard,  may  be  observed. 

Presumptions  whereupon  persons  maybe  committed,  and 
much  more,  convictions  whereupon  persons  may  be  con¬ 
demned  as  guilty  of  witchcrafts,  ought  certainly  to  be 
more  considerable  than  barely  the  accused  persons  being 
represented  by  a  spectre  unto  the  afflicted,  inasmuch  as  it 
is  an  undoubted  and  notorious  thing,  that  a  demon  may  by 
God’s  permission  appear,  even  to  ill  purposes,  in  the  shape 
of  an  innocent,  yea,  and  a  virtuous  man.  Nor  can  we  es¬ 
teem  alterations  made  in  the  sufferers,  by  a  look  or  touch 
of  the  accused,  to  be  an  infallible,  evidence  of  guilt,  but 
frequently  liable  to  be  abused  by  the  devil’s  legerdemain. 

We  know  not  whether  some  remarkable  affronts  given  the 
devils,  by  our  disbelieving  these  testimonies  whose  whole 
force  and  strength  is  from  them  alone,  may  not  put  a  period 
unto  the  progress  of  the  dreadful  calamity  begun  upon  us, 
in  the  accusation  of  so  many  persons,  whereof  some,  we 
hope,  are  yet  clear  from  the  great  transgression  laid  to 
their  charge. 

Nevertheless,  we  cannot  but  humbly  recommend  unto 
the  government,  the  speedy  and  vigorous  prosecutions  of 
such  as  have  rendered  themselves  obnoxious,  according  to 
the  directions  given  in  the  laws  of  God  and  the  wholesome 
statutes  of  the  English  nation  for  the  detection  of  witch¬ 
crafts.” 

Many  writers,  in  commenting  on  this  letter  of 


.84  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

"advice,  lay  particular  stress  on  the  last  clause, 
often  ignoring  the  others.  Many  have  quoted 
that  alone  as  indicating  the  views  of  the  minis¬ 
ters.  Could  anything  he  more  unjust  ?  The 
whole  history  of  the  witchcraft  era,  and  espec¬ 
ially  the  part  the  ministers  took  in  it,  has  been 
warped  by  such  perversion  of  this  letter.  Read 
without  prejudice,  is  it  not  more  like  the  charge 
of  a  judge  to  a  jury  than  a  savage  demand  for 
the  shedding  of  innocent  blood,  as  many  histo¬ 
rians  would  have  us  believe  ?  Five  of  the  six 
paragraphs  in  the  letter  devoted  to  advice  are 
cautionary,  while  only  one  urges  that  those  who 
have  violated  the  laws  of  God  and  man,  as  un¬ 
derstood  by  every  one  then,  be  vigorously  prose¬ 
cuted.  Unfortunately,  the  judges  did..nDt  heed 
the  cautions.  They  were  more  blind-ed  tha^he 
ministers.  As  Barrett  Wendell  says,  it  was  an 
honest  warning  of  a  danger  in  spite  of  which  the 
court  had  no  moral  right  to  hesitate  in  the  per¬ 
formance  of  its  official  duty.^’® 

The  court  reconvened  the  last  of  June,  and 
tried  Sarah  Good,  Sarah  Wildes,  Elizabeth  Howe 
and  Susanna  Martin,  and  finished  the  trial  of 
Rebecca  Nurse,  begun  on  June  2d  and  continued 
on  the  3rd.  All  were  convicted,  and  sentenced 
to  be  hanged  on  Tuesday,  July  19.  The  third 
sitting  was  about  August  2,  Tuesday,  when  Rev. 
George  Burroughs,  John  Procter,  Elizabeth 


9  “  Cotton  Mather,”  108. 


COTTON  MATHER 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OF  TRIAL. 


85 


Procter,  George  Jacobs,  sen.,  John  Willard  and 
Martha  Carrier  were  tried  and  convicted.  With 
the  exception  of  Elizabeth  Procter,  they  were 
executed  on  Friday,  August  19.  Another  ses¬ 
sion  was  held  early  in  September,  beginning  on 
Tuesday,  the  6th,  and  terminating  on  Saturday, 
the  17th.  Martha  Corey,  Mary  Easty,  Alice 
Parker,  Ann  Pudeator,  Dorcas  Hoar  and  Mary 
Bradbury  were  tried,  found  guilty  and  sentenced 
the  first  week.  All  save  the  two  last  named 
were  hanged  on  the  22d. 

During  the  following  week  nine  more  ac¬ 
cused  persons  were  convicted  and  sentenced, 
namely  :  Margaret  Scott,  Wilmot  Reed,  Samuel 
Ward  well,  Mary  Parker,  Abigail  Faulkner, 
Rebecca  Fames,  Mary  Lacey,  Ann  Foster  and 
Abigail  Hobbs.  Scott,  Reed,  Wardwell  and 
Parker  were  executed  on  Thursday,  the  22d. 
Th^se,  with  the  four  convicted  ^e  preceding 
week,  were  the  last  peraons  hanged  for  witch¬ 
craft  in  l6§2*Qr.  for  that  matter^  ever,  in  Massa- 
chnsetts:  ^It'was  on  this  occasion  that  Rev.  lUr. 
Hoyespmini^er  of Tfie^Tlfst  UKurch  in  Salem, 
turned  toward  the  bodies  of  the  victims  and 
said  :  What"ir5^2S^g"TfcTs'To”see  ei^ht  fire¬ 
brands  of  hell  hanging  JhereT^  Hutchinson 
says,  Those  who  were  condemned,  and  were 
not  executed,  I  suppose  all  confessed  their  guilt. 
I  have  seen  the  confessions  of  several  of  them.^’a 

lOCalef.  Fowler’s  Ed.,  265.  11  Hist.  Mass.,  II.,  59. 


86 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


After  these  convictions,  the  court  adjourned 
the  witchcraft  trials  until  Nov.  2.  But  it  never 
sat  again  to  try  witchcraft  cases.  It  did  sit  iii 
Bhston  on  Oct.  10,  to  trie  aTFrench  malatto  for 
shooting  dead  an  English  youth.^^  ^^^Ont^  28th 
of  the  preceding  June  the  General  Court  passed 
an  act  establishing  courts  of  ge^neral~se^sion^  of 
the  peace  on  and  after  the  last  Tuesday  in  July, 
which  was  the  26th  ;  also  festahli&JHng’Tnferior 
courts  of  common  pleas  to  hold  sessions  "at 'the 
same  time  and  in  places  where  they  "were 
formerly  held.  This  act  was  disallowed  by  the 
home  “gDTSIhment  on  Aug.  22,  1695.  These 
courts  were  established  only  until  others  should 
be  provided.  At  the  session  of  the  General 
Court  in  the  fall  an^act . was. passed,  on  Nov.  .25, 
creating  vafibus  courts,  among  them  courts  ,of 

— A-'  1  - - - -  .  j 

quarter  sessions  and  common  pleas  and  a  supe¬ 
rior  court  of  judicature.  On  the  16th  of  De¬ 
cember,  a  further  act  was  passed  which  provided 
that,  considering  the  many  persons  in  Essex 
county  charged  as  capital  offenders,  and  that  the 
time  had  passed  for  the  sitting  of  the  court, a 
special  court  of  assize  and  jail  delivery  was  or- 
dered  in  the  county^  The  ffrsr'tenn'“"of  this 
court  was  to  be  held  in  Salem  in  January.  These 
acts  establishing  regular  courts  certainly  termin¬ 
ated  the  special  court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer. 
Tribunals  created  in  emergencies  always  ceased 

12  Sewall  Papers,  I.,  366.  13  Province  Laws,  I.,  100. 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OF  TRIAL.  87 

to  exist  when  the  emergency  was  passed.^^  It 
was  now  passed,  because  regular  courts  had  been 
established  competent  to  do  the  work  previously 
done  by  the  Commissioners  of  Oyer  and  Ter¬ 
miner.  Stoughton  was  made  chief  justice  of 
the  new  court,  with  Eichards,  Winthrop,  Sewall 
and  Danforth,  associates.  At  its  session  held  in 

■'  .i 

Salem  in  January,  the  grand  jury  found  about 
fifty  indictments  for  witchcraft,  and  twenty-one 
persons  were  tried.  Three  of  theraT^were '‘cbn- 
victed  and  sentenced  to  be  hah^d,  viz.,'*A[ary 
Po^'of  Edwley,  EiizaEeth' Johnson,  junior^  and 
Sarali  WardAvell,  widow  of  Samuel  Wafdwell, 
oTAiidover.  They  were  never  execute^r"  Four 
were  tried  in  Charlestown,  one  in  Boston,  and 
five  in  Ipswich  in  Ma^  (the  last  trials),  but  no 
more  convictions  could  be  secured.  Finally,  in 
IVlay,  Gov.  Phips  issued  a  proclamation  releasing 
all  persons  held  in  custody  on  charge  of  witch¬ 
craft —  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  number.^^ 
No  other  prosecutions  for  witchcraft  were  ever 
made  in  Essex  county. 

Only  one  case  of  witchcraft  ever  after  oc¬ 
curred  in  Massachusetts.  That  was  in  1693. 
Cotton  Mather  says  :  ‘‘  It  was  upon  the  Lord^s 
day,  the  10th  of  September,  in  the  year  1693, 
that  Margaret  Eule,  after  some  hours  of  previous 
disturbance  in  the  public  assembly,  fell  into  odd 

14  Hale,  P.  C.,  II.,  4. 

16  Filips  to  Nottingham,  Essex  Inst.  Hist.  Coll.  IX.,  pt.  2, 81. 


88 


WITCHCRAFT  IX  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


fits,  which  caused  her  friends  to  carry  her  home, 
where  her  fits  grew  in  a  few  hours  into  a  figure 
that  satisfied  the  spectators  of  their  being  pre¬ 
ternatural/’  He  says  further  that  the  young' 
woman  was  assaulted  by  eight  cruel  spectres. 
“  These  spectres  brought  unto  her  a  book  and 
dem^^Fd'o'Qmr  that_.she ,  wouhLset  her.  to 
it  di’  touch  it  at  least  with  her  hand,.as  a  sjgn  of 
her  becoming  a  servant  of  the  devil.  Upon  her 
refusal  to  dQ-w:ha,t  they  askjFid  they  dfd  not  re- 
new  the  proffers  of  the  book  unto  her,  but  fell 
to  tormenting  her  ^  in  a  manner- -  too  ^  hellish 
to  be  sufficiently  d^rib^cl!^”  The  afflictions  ” 
of  Margaret  "iSule  continued  six  weeks.  ^^At 
last,”  says  Mather,  being  as  it  were  tired  with 
their  ineffectual  attempts  to  mortify  her  they 
furiously  said,  ^  Well,  you  shan’t  be  the  last.’ 
And  after  a  pause  they  added,  ‘  Go,  and  the 
devil  go  with  you,  we  can  do  no  more,’  where¬ 
upon  they  flew  out  of  the  room,  and  she,  return¬ 
ing  perfectly  to  herself,  most  affectionately  gave 
thanks  to  God  for  her  deliverance.”  Calef  says 
that  in  answer  to  a  question  one  of  Margaret’s 
friends  said :  ‘‘  She  does  not  eat  at  all,  but 
drinks  rum.”  Fowler  says  she  had  a  bad 
case  of  delirium  tremens.”^® 

Dwight,  in  his  Travels,”  tells  of  a  case  al- 

16  See  Mather’s  account  of  the  “  Sufferings  of  Margaret 
Rule,”  and  Calef’s  comments,  quoted  by  Fowler  in  his  “  Salem 
Witchcraft,  etc.,”  pp.  25-27. 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OF  TRIAL,  89 


leged  to  have  happened  in  Northampton  after 
1692,  where  one  man  accused  another  of  witch¬ 
craft,  and  the  case  came  before  Magistrate  Par¬ 
tridge.  The  magistrate  said  this  case  came 
under  the  head  of  offences  where  the  accuser 

received  half  of  what  was  adjudged.  A  per¬ 
son  accused  of  witchcraft  was  by  law  punished 
with  twenty  stripes.  He  should  therefore  order 
ten  of  those  to  the  accuser.^’  The  trouble  with 
this  story  is  that  the  punishment  for  witchcraft 
was  not  twenty  stripes.’’  It  is  far  more  likely 
that  the  magistrate  ordered  the  stripes  because 
he  believed  the  accuser  had  made  a  false  accusa¬ 
tion. 

A  Benom  woman  and  her  daughter,  aged  thir¬ 
teen,  of  Hartford,  Conn,,  were  tried  on  charge 
of  witchcraft  in  1697  and  acquitted.  Ten  cases 
of  the  crime  or  disorder  occurred  in  Connecticnt 
m  all. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  other  cases  occurred ' 
in  different  parts  of  the  country,  but  the  early 
•Records  are  too  imperfect  to  be  implicitly  relied 
/ upon. 

Nineteen  persons  had  been  hanged  in  Salem 
during  the  four  months  ;  (^iles 

ir  -Irnth  for  plead;  and 

-  r>QKnrn  ond-.Ann  Foster  had  died  in  prison 

.from  ill-treatment  and  exposure.  Xffl  to  tffese 
the  number  of  those  who  Ka^^e^  released 


90 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


because  they  confessed,  those  who  had  escaped, 
or  been  bailed,  or  otherwise  gone  free,  and  the 
totar^humb^r  accused  and  arrested  must  have 
been  more  than  two  hundred  and  titty. 

Wha't  led  the  Governor to'lssuethTs  proclama¬ 
tion?  'What  caused  him  to  put  an  end  to  the 
witchcraft  prosecutions  ?  It  has  been  often 
asserted  in  substance,  that  ^^the  eyes  of 
"  the^oyemor  and  ^‘the  eyes  of  the.  people 
-  were  opened  to  the  error  of  their  way  when 
^  Mrs.  Hale,  wife  of  the  minister  at  Bever- 
^  ly,  was  accused.  One  writer  says  this  was 
what  finally  broke  the  spell. Let  us  see.  Mrs. 
Haleys  name  was  mentioned,  or  “whispered 
about,’^  in  October,  1692.  Yet  when,  a  few 
weeks  later,  the  court  was  reconstructed, — for 
that  was  all  it  amounted  to, — it  was  composed 
of  men,  all  but  one  of  whom  had  been  members 
of  the  court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer.  All  save 
Danforth  were  known  to  be  in  full  sympathy 
with  witchcraft  prosecutions.  That  there  might 
be  no  question  about  the  right  of  this  tribunal 
to  hang  witches,  the  general  court  in  October, 
re-enacted  the  colonial  statute  against  witchcraft, 
and  in  December  re-enforced  it  with  the  English 
statute.i^  The  new  court  resumed  the  business 
in  Salem,  as  already  stated,  in  the  most  vigorous 
manner,  with  a  zeal  not  exceeded  by  the  tribu- 

18  Salem  Witchcraft,  II.,  345. 

19  Notes  on  Hist.  Witchcraft  in  Mass.,  Moore,  9. 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OF  TRIAL.  91 

nal  which  preceded  it.  Every  effort  was  made 
by  the  authorities  for  three  months  longer  to 
secure  convictions.  Does  this  look  as  if  the 
spell  had  been  broken  in  October?  Does  this 
look  as  if  the  prosecutions  had  been  brought 
to  a  close  because  Mrs.  Hale  had  been  “  named,” 
and  other  persons  of  high  connections  “  sus¬ 
pected?  The  officials,  who  would,  under  those 
circumstances,  have  been  the  first  to  abate  in 
zeal,  never  relaxed  their  efforts  until  the  juries, 
composed  of  the  common  people,  had  refused 
repeatedly  to  convict.  Xfegjm*ies  that  tried  the 
accused  in  1692  were  ^inposed  of  freemen  only, 
while  those  of  1693  were  chosen  from  among  all 
those  inhabitants  who  possessed  the  requisite 
amount  of  property  to  qualify  them  as  electors 
under  the  new  charter.20  Freemen  were  neces¬ 
sarily  church  members  and  nn^  as  likely  to  act 
independently  as  the  jurors  selected  from  sub- 
staufiaTIy' the' whole  b(  dy  of  the  people.  It  is- 
evidentthat  during  the  period  between  Septem¬ 
ber  17,  when  the  court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer 
sat  for  the  last  time,  and  the  opening  of  the 
session  of  the  Superior  Court  the  following  Jan¬ 
uary,  the  people  generally  began  to  emerge  from 
the  long  night-mare,  the  panic,  into  which  they 
had  been  thrown.  The  inhabitants  of  Andover 
were  among  the  first  to  protest,  uniting  in  a  re- 

20  Further  notes  on  the  Hist,  of  Witchcraft,  etc.,  Goodell, 
1884,  p.  33;  Also,  Province  Laws,  1692-93,  chap.  33. 


92 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


monstrance  to  the  General  Court  against  the 
witchcraft  proceedings,  and  even  bringing  suits 
against  some  of  their  accusers.  Spectral  evi¬ 
dence  lost  its  force,  and  finally  was  entirely 
rejected,  leaving  nothing  to  substantiate  the 
charges.  All  other  convictions  had  been  secured 
largely  on  this  species  of  evidence.*  One  thing 
is  impressed  on  our  minds  as  we  study  the 
^  history  of  these  trials :  and  that  is,  that  such 
proceedings  would  not  be  allowed  in  any  court 
in  this  country  in  our  day.  Granting  that  all 
that  is  said  in  criticism  of  the  red  tape  re¬ 
quirements  of  our  modern  courts  is  true,  yet,  as 
Hon.  W.  D.  Northend  has  said :  under  the 
rules  of  law  as  now  fully  established  none  of 
the  evidence  upon  which  convictions  were  found 
would  be  admitted.  Spectral  and  kindred  evi¬ 
dence  could  not  be  allowed,  and  without  it  not 
one  of  the  accused  could  have  been  convicted.^^ 
There  is  evidence  that  Gov.  Phips  was  never 
/  in  full  sympathy  with  the  modes  of  procedure  in 
the  witchcraft  prosecutions.  Being  unlearned 
in  law  and  theology,  he  seems  to  have  followed 

*  When  the  chief  judge  gave  the  lirst  jury  their  charge,  he 
told  them  that  they  were  not  to  mind  whether  the  bodies  of  the 
said  afflicted  were  really  pined  and  consumed  as  was  expressed 
in  the  indictment ;  but  whether  the  said  afflicted  did'not  suffer 
from  the  accused  such  affliction  as  naturally  tended  to  their 
being  pined  and  consumed,  wasted,  &c.  This,  said  he,  is  a  pin¬ 
ing  and  consuming  in  the  sense  of  the  law.”  Brattle’s  Letter, 
Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  1st  series,  V..  77.  ^ 

•Li  Essex  Inst.,  Hist.  Coll.,[XX.,  270. 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OF  TRIAL.  93 

the  advice  of  the  judges  and  the  more  bigoted 
of  the  ministers.  In  his  letter  to  the  home 
government,  under  date  of  October  14,  1692,  the 
Governor  says  he  was  prevailed  upon  by  the 
clamors  of  the  friends  of  the  afflicted  and  the 
advice  of  the  deputy  governor  (Stoughton)  to 
give  a  commission  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  ;  that 
he  was  absent  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  country 
almost  the  whole  time,  and  depended  upon  the 
judgment  of  the  court  as  to  a  method  of  pro¬ 
ceeding  in  cases  of  witchcraft.^^  He  returned 
from  the  east  about  October  12.  It  seems  al¬ 
ways  to  have  been  a  question  whether  the  gov¬ 
ernor  decided  to  abolish  the  court  ”  for  the 
purpose  of  putting  an  end  to  the  witchcraft 
prosecutions.  It  is  evident  that  he  was  dissat¬ 
isfied  with  its  method  of  procedure.  He  may 
have  thought  the  work  could  be  done  by  the 
regular  courts.  But  if  he  dissolved  it  to  put 
an  end  to  those  prosecutions,  would  he  have  re¬ 
appointed  the  same  men  to  the  new  court  and 
allowed  them  to  continue  the  trials  with  una¬ 
bated  zeal  ?  If  Phips  really  abolished  this 
court,  if  it  did  not  fall  solely  because  of  the 
constituting  of  a  new  tribunal  with  jurisdiction 
over  the  same  class  of  cases  with  which  it  had 
dealt,  then  is  it  not  more  probable  that  he  dis- 
_golved  it  because  the  people  were  complaining 
bitterly  of  the  arbitrary  manner  in  which  it  had 

22 Phips  to  Nottingham,  Essex  Inst.  Hist.  Coll.,  IX.,  pt.  2,  81. 


94 


WITCHCIIAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


been  constituted,  and  the  arbitrary  manner  in 
which  it  had  proceeded  with  its  work  ?  This 
view  is  strengthened  by  Phips’  letter  to  the 
home  government,  in  which  he  says  that  when 
he  came  home  from  the  war  in  the  east  he  found 
many  persons  in  a  strange  ferment  of  dissatis¬ 
faction.*®  The  Governor  himself  says  he  issued 
his  freedom  proclamation  because  he  had  been 
informed  by  the  King’s  attorney  general  that 

some  of  ye  cleared  and  ye  condemned  were 
under  ye  same  circumstances  or  that  there  was 
ye  same  reason  to  clear  ye  three  condemned  as 
ye  rest  according  to  his  judgement.”*^  He  fur¬ 
ther  states  that  the  judges,  when  he  appointed 
them  to  the  new  court,  promised  to  proceed 
after  another  method,  by  which  he  meant  that 
convictions  were  not  to  be  secured  on  spectral 
evidence.*®  He  does  not  at  any  time  question 
the  validity  of  the  Commission  of  Oyer  and  Ter¬ 
miner  nor  of  the  Superior  Court,  nor  the  reality 
of  witchcraft.  All  complaints  are  directed 
against  modes  of  procedure.  That  the  accusa¬ 
tions  made  against  so  many  people  of  high 
character  and  irreproachable  life  led  to  grave 
doubts  whether  the  devil  did  not  take  the  shapes 
of  persons  without  their  knowledge  or  consent, 
to  afEict  his  victims,  there  can  be  no  question. 
But  there  is  no  evidence  that  at  this  time  any 
one  doubted  that  there  was  such  a  thing  as 

23Ibd.  24PMps  to  Nottingham,  Feb.  21,  1693.  26  Ibd. 


THE  COURT  AND  PLACES  OF  TRIAL.  95 

witchcraft.  Even  Calef,  the  great  critic  of 
Mather  and  the  judges,  wrote  as  late  as  Novem¬ 
ber,  1693  :  That  there  are  witches  is  not  the 
doubt.  The  scriptures  else  were  vain  which  as¬ 
signs  their  punishment  to  be  by  death,  but  what 
this  witchcraft  is  and  wherein  it  does  consist, 
seems  to  be  the  whole  difficulty.’’ 

On  Oct.  11,  1692,  Henry  Selpins  and  Peter 
Pietrus,  ministers  of  New  York,  Godfrey  Delius, 
minister  of  the  Dutch  church  at  New  Albany, 
Eudolph  Varich,  minister  at  Platbush,  answered 
certain  questions  propounded  to  them  by  Gov. 
Dudley  of  New  York  on  behalf  of  the  Massa¬ 
chusetts  authorities,  “  for  guidance  in  future 
trials  there.”  They^aid^Jhat. there  was  such  a 
thing  as  witchcraft ;  that  the  formal' essence 
of  witchcraft  consists  in  an  alliance  with^the 
Dejil  ”  ;  that  “  the  spectre  or  apparition  of  one 
wlio  immediately  works  violence  and  injury  up¬ 
on  the  afflicted  is  by  no  m eans  sufficient ^  to.. go n- 
vi'ct'  a  witch  or  wizzard,  although  preceded  by 
enmity  or  threats.  The^rea^xyg,  aaA)ecause.,the 
Devil  can  assume  the  of  RrgeocLman.. .  .An 
honest  and  charitable  life  and  conduct,  probably 

..  ■iMi 

removes  the  suspicion  of  criminal  intent  from 

•  -  .  ii_ .  iir  ■  ■  I  ■ '  «. ,..1.^  ,  ,  I ^  .^ — 

thc^“e^wTio  are  accused  of  witchcraft  byjffie  tes¬ 
timony  oT'tHe  afflicted.  Still,  this  is  not  an 
indubitable  evidence  of  false  accusaHon““'be'^ 
cause  a  cunning  man  might  conceal  his  devilish 

26  Fowler’s  ed.,  62. 


96 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


practices  under  the  semblance  of  a  good Jife  in 
order  to  escape  suspicion,  and  righteous  condem¬ 
nation.  It  is  possible  for  those  who  are  really 
tortured,  convulsed  and  afflicted  by  the  Devil 
with  many  miseries,  during  several  months,  to 
suffer  no  wasting  of  body  and  no  weakening  of 
their  spirits.  The  reason  is  that  nutrition  is 
perfect,  the  stomach  suffers  no  injury.’^ 

This  information  may  have  been  asked  for  by 
the  Lieutenant  Governor,  or  by  the  Governor 
himself  during  one  of  his  brief  visits  to  Boston 
that  summer.  Whether  the  letter  influenced  the 
Governor  in  his  subsequent  action,  it  is  not  pos¬ 
sible  to  say  with  certainty.  Quite  likely  it  did 
to  some  extent.  On  the  whole,  notwithstanding 
the  letters  of  Gov.  Phips  to  the  home  govern¬ 
ment,  it  is  not  entirely  clear  just  what  motives 
prompted  his  acts  during  the  fall  and  winter  of 
1692-3.  In  some  respects  they  were  inconsistent 
with  one  another,  and  far  from  being  in  accord 
with  his  written  statements. 


THE  GJLES  COPEY  MILL,  DANVERS. 


I 

,1 


CHAPTER  V. 


MARTHA  AND  GII,RS  COR^V. 


TWELVE  days  after  Good,  Osbuni  and  Ti- 
tuba  were  sent  to  jail,  warrants  were  is¬ 


sued  for  Martha  Corey,  wife  of  Giles  Co¬ 
rey.  She  was  immediately  taken  into  custody, 
and  on  March  21  examined  before  Hathorne  and 
Corwin.  Martha  Corey  was,  upon  all  the  evidence 
that  has  come  down  to  us,  a  woman  of  more  than 
average  judgment  and  discretion.  From  the 
beginning,  she  resolutely  and  persistently  de¬ 
nounced  the  whole  witchcraft  business.  While 
her  husband  was,  at  first,  completely  carried  away 
with  the  storm  which  swept  over  the  rural  com¬ 
munity,  she  had  no  faith  in  it.  She  sought  to 
persuade  him  not  to  attend  the  hearings,  nor  to 
countenance  the  prosecutions  in  any  manner.  It 
was  charged  against  her  that  she  took  the  saddle 
off  his  horse  on  one  occasion  when  he  was  prepar¬ 
ing  to  go  to  the  examinations.  Giles  Corey  was 
eighty  years  of  age,  and  although  Martha  was 
his  third  wife  and  no  doubt  somewhat  his 
junior,  she  was  probably  more  than  sixty  years 


98  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

of  age  at  this  time.  She  joined  the  Village 
church  in  1690/  he  the  Salem  church  in  1691.  It 
has  always  seemed  a  little  singular  that  a 
woman  of  her  character  should  be  among  the 
first  to  be  accused.  Whether  her  early  and  ear¬ 
nest  protest  led  to  the  use  of  her  name  among 
the  suspected,  has  always  been  a  question.  It 
may  have  aroused  a  suspicion  that  she  was  in 
league  with  the  evil  one. 

When  the  name  of  Martha  Corey  was  first 
whispered  around  by  the  girls  of  the  accusing 
circle,  Edward  Putnam  and  Ezekiel  Cheever 
paid  a  visit  to  her.  The}^  sought  to  secure  from 
this  old  woman  some  sort  of  confession.  It  was 
on  March  12.  On  the  way,  they  called  at  Ann 
Putnain^s,  to  see  what  assistance  she  could  ren¬ 
der.  Asked  about  the  clothes  Corey  wore  when 
she  appeared  on  her  spectral  visits,  Ann  re- 
, plied  that  she  had  just  made  one  of  those  calls, 
but  had  so  blinded  her  that  she  could  not  see 
what  clothes  she  wore.  These  detectives 
then  rode  on  to  Corey’s.  On  their  arrival,  Mar¬ 
tha  said  to  them:  “  I  know  what  you  have  come 
for.  You  are  come  to  talk  with  me  about  being 
a  wdtch,  but  I  am  none.  I  cannot  help  people’s 
talking  about  me.”  She  inquired  whether  the 
afflicted  had  attempted  to  describe  her  clothes. 
That  she  should  so  accurately  divine  the  object 

1  See  Church  Record;  also,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  3rd  series,  III., 
169. 


MARTHA  AND  GILES  CORET.  99 

of  their  call  was  by  them,  and  the  court  subse¬ 
quently,  deemed  conclusive  evidence  of  her  be¬ 
ing  a  witch.  Undoubtedly  she  had  heard  that 
her  name  was  being  “  taken  by  the  afflicted. 
So,  too,  she  may  have  known  that  the  children 
commonly  told  what  sort  of  clothes  the  spectral 
visitors  wore  when  making  their  visits.  The 
conversation  was  protracted,  Putnam  and 
Cheever  from  their  own  account,  endeavoring  by 
every  means  in  their  power  to  get  some  state¬ 
ment  from  Martha  Corey  which  could  be  used 
against  her.  Regarding  what  they  said  to  her 
they  testified :  She  made  but  little  answer  to 
this  but  seemed  to  smile  at  it  as  if  she  had 
showed  us  a  pretty  trick.  She  told  us  that  she 
did  not  think  that  there  were  any  witches.  Wee 
told  her  wee  were  fully  satisfied  about  the  first 
three  that  they  were  such  persons  they  were  ac¬ 
cused  for,  shee  said  if  they  were  wee  could  not 
blame  the  devill  for  making  witches  of  them,  for 
they  were  idle  sloathfull  persons  and  minded 
nothing  that  was  good.^’  On  the  way  home, 
Putnam  and  Cheever  made  another  call  on  Ann. 
She  told  them  that  Goodwife  Corey  had  not 
appeared  to  her  during  their  absence.^  Did  she 
shrewdly  volunteer  this  statement,  that  they 
might  not  again  ask  her  about  the  clothes  Corey 
wore  at  any  particular  time.^  It  is,  however, 
pretty  dangerous  to  attempt  to  read  the  minds 


2  Essex  Court  Records. 


^  I* 


\ 


100  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

of  those  who  lived  centuries  before  us  by  the 
knowledge  we  have  of  their  acts,  and  that 
knowledge  but  partial  and  imperfect.  And  yet, 
the  tenor  of  Ann  Putnam ^s  acts  all  through 
these  trials  was  such  as  to  justify  very  strong 
suspicions  as  to  her  honesty.  The  examination 
of  Martha  Corey  was  a  sample  of  cross-examin¬ 
ation  and  brow-beating  on  the  part  of  the  magis¬ 
trates,  which  finds  parallel  only  in  the  conduct 
of  some  ungentlemanly  shyster  lawyer  of  a  type 
happily  now  very  rare.  It  was  quite  extended, 
but  confined  mainly  to  an  effort  to  make  the 
prisoner  confess.  She  persisted  in  denying. 
Here  are  some  samples  : 

Mr.  Hathorne.  You  are  now  in  the  hands  of  authority. 
Tell  me,  now,  why  you  hurt  these  persons. — I  do  not. 

Hathorne.  Who  doth  ? — Pray  give  me  leave  to  go  to 
prayer.  This  request  was  made  sundry  times. 

Hathorne.  We  do  not  send  for  you  to  go  to  prayer,  but 
tell  me  why  you  hurt  these. — I  am  an  innocent  person.  I 
never  had  to  do  with  witchcraft  since  I  was  horn.  I  am  a 
gospel  woman.  *  *  *  * 

Hathorne.  How  could  you  tell,  then,  that  the  child  was 
bid  to  obserre  what  clothes  you  wore  when  some  one  came 
to  speak  with  you?  Cheever  interrupted  her  and  bid  her 
not  begin  with  a  lie,  and  so  Edward  Putnam  declared  the 
matter. 

Hathorne.  Who  told  you  that? — He  said  the  child  said. 

Cheever.  You  speak  falsely. — Then  Edward  Putnam 
read  again. 

Hathorne.  Why  did  you  ask  if  the  child  asked  what 
clothes  you  wore  ? — My  husband  told  me  the  others  told. 

Hathorne.  Goodman  Corey,  did  you  tell  her?  The  old 
man  denied  that  he  told  her  so. 


MARTHA  AND  GILES  COREY. 


101 


Hathorne.  Did  you  not  say  your  husband  told  you  so  ? 
No  answer.  ♦  *  »  * 

Hathorne.  You  dare  thus  to  lie  in  all  this  assembly. 
You  are  now  before  authority.  I  expect  the  truth.  You 
promised  it.  Speak  now  and  tell  who  told  you  what 
clothes .  — N  obody . 

At  one  time  the  children  cried  out  that  a  man 
was  whispering  in  her  ear.  Hathorne  asked  ; 

What  did  he  say  to  you?^’  She  replied  :  We 
must  not  believe  all  that  these  distracted  chil¬ 
dren  say.”  When  she  denied  any  charge  made 
against  her  there  was  extreme  agony  of  all  the 
afflicted.” 

Parris,  who  reported  this  trial,  says,  It  was 
noted  when  she  bit  her  lip  several  of  the  af¬ 
flicted  were  bitten.”  Also,  “  when  her  hands 
were  at  liberty  the  afflicted  were  pinched.” 
Hathorne  asked:  Do  you  not  see  these  children 
and  women  are  rational  and  sober  when  your 
hands  are  fastened?”  Immediately  they  were 
seized  with  fits,  and  the  standers-by  said  she  was 
squeezing  her  fingers,  her  hands  being  eased  by 
them  that  held  them  on  purpose  for  trial. 
Quickly  after,  the  marshall  said,  ‘  She  hath  bit 
her  lip,’  and  immediately  the  afflicted  were  in  an 
uproar.”  Throughout  her  examination  she  was 
badgered  by  Hathorne,  badgered  by  Corwin, 
badgered  by  E,ev.  Mr.  Noyes,  badgered  by  the 
marshal  and  by  the  audience. 

The  following  document  is  on  file  in  the 
court  house  in  Salem  : 


102  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


Giles  Choree  testilieth  and  saith  that  in  the  evening,  sit¬ 
ting  hy  the  fire,  my  wife  asked  me  to  go  to  bed.  I  told  (her) 
I  would  go  to  prayer  &  when  I  went  to  prayer  I  could  nott 
utter  my  desires  with  any  sense,  not  open  my  mouth  to 
speak.  My  wife  did  percieve  itt  &  came  towards  me  & 
said  she  was  coming  to  me.  After  this  in  a  little  space  I 
did  according  to  my  measure  attend  the  duty.  Some  time 
last  week  I  fetched  an  ox  well  out  of  the  woods  about  noon 
&  he  laying  down  in  the  yard  I  went  to  raise  him  to  yoke 
him  but  he  could  not  rise  but  draged  his  hinder  parts  as  if 
he  had  been  hip  shott  hut  after  did  rise.  I  had  a  catt  sorne 
times  last  week  strangely  taken  on  the  suddam,  &  did 
make  me  think  she  would  have  died  presently,  my  wife 
bid  me  knock  her  in  the  head  butt  I  did  not  and  since  she 
is  well.  Another  time  going  to  duties  I  was  interrupted 
for  a  space  butt  afterwards  I  was  helpt  according  to  my 
poor  measure.  My  wife  hath  been  wont  to  sitt  up  after  I 
went  to  bed  &  I  have  percieved  her  to  kneel  down  on  the 
hearth  as  if  she  were  at  prayer  but  heard  nothing.  At  the 
examination  of  Sarah  Good  &  others  my  wife  was  willing 

Here  the  statement  ceases.  Some  writers  at¬ 
tempt  to  discredit  it  as  not  given  in  the  usual 
and  regular  way.  Because  a  line  is  drawn 
through  the  words  italicised  above,  they  think 
some  suspicion  attaches  to  it,  and  that  the  par¬ 
ties  who  tried  to  get  the  old  man  to  testify 
against  his  wife  discovered  that  they  could  not 
draw  anything  derogatory  from  him,  and  there 
was  danger  that  his  evidence  would  be  favorable 
to  her.  Is  it  not  more  probable  that  the  record¬ 
er  was  interrupted  at  this  point  and  did  not  then 
complete  the  statement;  that  afterwards  he 
started  to  erase  the  uncompleted  line,  or,  per¬ 
haps,  meant  the  mark  he  made  to  be  an  erasure  ? 


MARTHA  AND  GILES  COREY. 


103 


There  appears  to  be  no  evidence  in  connection 
with  this  paper  to  prove  that  it  was  not  testi¬ 
mony  taken  in  court  in  the  usual  way.  Its  date 
is  four  days  after  the  examination  of  Martha 
Corey,  it  is  true  ;  but  may  it  not  have  been  giv¬ 
en  in  then?  Evidence  would  not  be  admitted 
in  such  an  irregular  manner  to-day,  but  the 
practices  of  the  courts  were  much  different  in 
1692.  During  the  examination,  Mrs.  Pope  threw 
her  muff  at  the  prisoner,  but  did  not  hit  her. 
Then  she  pulled  off  her  shoe  and,  throwing  it, 
struck  Mrs.  Corey  in  the  head.  This  Mrs.  Pope 
was  an  important  witness  in  many  cases,  but 
subsequently  acknowledged  her  error  and  de¬ 
plored  the  whole  business.  Martha  Corey  was 
committed  for  trial.  She  was  tried  by  the  court 
at  its  September  sitting,  convicted,  and  sen¬ 
tenced  on  September  10,  and  executed  on  Sep¬ 
tember  22.  Calef  says,  Martha  Corey,  wife  of 
Giles  Corey,  protesting  her  innocency,  concluded 
her  life  with  an  eminent  prayer  upon  the  lad- 


der.^’3  ^ 

X'  After  her  sentence,  and  while  awaiting  execu- 

^  tjqn,  Darns,  accompanied  by  Lieut.  Nathaniel 

,  Putnam  "ajurTwo  deacons  of  his  church,  visited 
‘  .  .  -  -  '  . 

/  her  in  jail  and  pronounced  the  sentence  of  ex-, 

/  communication  upon  her.*  ''  ■ 


3  Fowler’s  ed.,  262. 

w  4“  Accordingly,  this  14  September,  1692,  the  three  aforesaid 
nt^thren  went  with  the  pastor  to  her  in  Salem  Prison  ;  whom 
we  found  very  obdurate,  justifying  herself,  and  condemning  all 


104  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

The  case  of  Giles  Corey  is,  in  some  respects, 
the  most  interesting  and  the  most  tragic  in  all 
this  wonderful  drama  of  witchcraft.  As  pre¬ 
viously  stated,  he  was  carried  away  with  the 
delusion  from  the  outset,  and  against  the  wishes 
of  his  wife,  attended  the  earlier  examinations. 
He  was  arrested  on  a  warrant  issued  April  18, 
and  examined  on  the  19th,  in  the  Village  meet¬ 
ing  house.  The  accusing  girls  conducted  them¬ 
selves  in  the  usual  manner,  and  were  so  badly 
affected  with  fits  and  troubled  with  pinches  ” 
that  the  court  ordered  Corey ^s  hands  to  be  tied.. 
When  the  magistrates  asked  him  if  it  was  not 
enough  to  act  witchcraft  at  other  times,  but 
must  you  do  it  now  in  face  of  authority.^”  he 
replied,  I  am  poor  creature  and  cannot  help 
it.^’  Later,  the  magistrate  exclaimed  :  Why 
do  you  tell  such  wicked  lies  against  witnesses?” 

One  of  his  hands  was  let  go,”  continues  the 
record,  and  several  were  afflicted.  He  held 
his  head  on  one  side,  and  then  the  heads  of  sev¬ 
eral  of  the  afflicted  were  held  on  one  side.  He 
drew  in  his  cheeks,  and  the  cheeks  of  some  of 
the  afflicted  were  sucked  in.” 

Elizabeth  Woodwell  deposed  that  she  saw  him 

that  had  done  anything  to  her  just  discovery  or  condemnation. 
Whereupon,  after  a  little  discourse  (for  her  imperiousness 
would  not  suffer  much),  and  after  prayer,  which  she  was  willing 
to  decline— the  dreadful  sentence  of  excommunication  was  pro¬ 
nounced  against  her.”  Extract  from  Parris’  record  in  the 
church  book,  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  3d  series,  III.,  169. 


MARTHA  AND  GILES  COREY. 


105 


on  a  lecture  day  come  in  and  sit  in  the  middle¬ 
most  seat  of  the  men’s  seats  by  the  post.  Mary 
Warren  said  he  was  hostile  to  her  and  afflicted 
her  because  he  thought  she  caused  John  Procter 
to  ask  more  for  a  piece  of  meadow  than  he  was 
willing  to  give.  John  Derick,  sixteen  years  of 
age,  testified  that  “  said  Giles  Corey  came  about 
the  20th  of  August  and  told  me  that  he  wanted 
some  platers  for  he  was  gowen  to  have  a  feast 
he  told  me  that  he  had  a  good  mind  to  ask  my 
dame  but  he  said  that  she  would  not  let  him 
have  them  so  he  took  the  platers  and  cared  them 
away  being  gown  about  half  a  oure  with  them 
then  he  brot  them  againe  gowen  away  and  said 
nothing.”  If  Corey  was  going  as  a  spectre  why 
did  he  wish  the  actual  platters  ?  It  is  another 
case  of  bodily,  material  presence  like  that  of 
Abigail  Hobbs. 

This  testimony  was  given  on  September  7  be¬ 
fore  the  grand  inquest.  There  is  very  little 
evidence  in  Giles  Corey’s  case.  That  given  here 
comprises  ‘all  of  special  interest.  The  magis¬ 
trates  committed  him  to  jail.  This  was  on  or 
about  April  18.  He  was  brought  before  the 
court  in  September,  to  plead  to  an  indictment 
for  witchcraft.  The  old  man  refused  to  plead, 
“  stood  mute,”  as  the  law  terms  it.  The  records 
of  the  Salem  church  under  date  of  September 
18,  Sunday,  state  that,  “  G.  Corey  was  excom¬ 
municated.  The  cause  of  it  was,  that  he  being 


106  WITCHCEAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


accused  and  indicted  for  the  sin  of  witchcraft, 
he  refused  to  plead,  and  so  incurred  the  sen¬ 
tence  and  penalty  of  pain  fortdure,  being  un¬ 
doubtedly  guilty  of  the  sin  of  witchcraft,  or  of 
throwing  himself  upon  sudden  and  certain  death, 
if  he  were  otherwise  innocent. Th  does  not 
say  the  penalty  was  enforced,  only  that  it  was 
incurred. 

The  English  law  of  those  days,  for  standing 
i  mute  ’’  was  that  the  prisoner  “  be  remanded  to 
^  ^^^-the  prison  from  whence  he  came  and  put  into  a 


low  dark  chamber,  and  there  be  laid  on  his  back 
■  Av  on  the  bare  floor,  naked,  unless  where  decency 
^  forbids  ;  that  there  be  placed  upon  his  body  as 
great  a  weight  of  iron  as  he  could  bear,  and 
more,  that  he  have  no  sustenance,  save  only  on 
the  first  day,  three  morsels  of  the  worst  bread, 
and  on  the  second  day,  three  draughts  of  stand¬ 
ing  water,  that  should  be  nearest  to  the  prison 
door,  and  in  this  situation  this  should  be  alter¬ 
nately  his  daily  diet  till  he  died,  or — as  ancient- 
V^^^'ly  the  judgement  ran — till  he  answered.’^^ 

No  other  instance  of  the  enforcement  of  this 
penalty  is  known  in  New  England  history. 
Blackstone  says  it  was  adopted  in  England 
about  the  beginning  of  the  rein  of  Henry  IV. 
He  adds  that  the  uncertainty  of  its  origin,  the 
doubts  of  its  legality,  and  the  repugnance  of  its 
theory  to  the  humanity  of  the  laws  of  England 
SChitty’s  Blackstone,  IV.,  265. 


r  -T- 


SALEM 


MARTHA  AND  GILES  COREY. 


107 


all  concurred  to  require  the  abolishment  of  the 
cruel  punishment,  so  that  standing  mute  should 
amount  only  to  a  confession  of  guilt.® 

There  is  some  uncertainty  as  to  the  place 
where  the  last  act  in  this  terrible  tragedy  took 
place.  The  tradition  has  always  been  that  it 
was  between  the  Howard  street  burial  ground 
and  Brown  street,  in  an  open  field,  and  that 
Corey  urged  the  officers  to  add  more  weight, 
that  his  misery  might  the  sooner  be  ended,  a  re¬ 
quest  perfectly  natural  for  a  man  who  had  made 
up  his  mind  to  die  that  way.  Calef  is  authority 
for  this  story  of  monstrous  brutality  on  the  part 
of  the  officers  :  In  pressing,  his  tongue  being 
pressed  out  of  his  mouth,  the  sheriff  with  his 
cane  forced  it  in  again  when  he  was  dying.’’^ 
Sewall  left  this  record :  “  Monday,  September 
19,  1692.  About  noon  at  Salem,  Giles  Corey 
was  pressed  to  death  for  standing  Mute  ;  much 
pains  was  used  with  him  two  days,  one  after 
another,  by  the  court  and  Capt.  Gardner  of  Nan¬ 
tucket  who  had  been  of  his  acquaintance,  but 
all  in  vain.^’®  This  horrible  tragedy  was  enacted 
three  days  previous  to  the  hanging  of  Martha 
Corey  and  her  nine  companions.  No  one  knows 
just  why  Corey  refused  to  plead  and  suffered 
such  a  death.  It  may  have  been  because  of  his 
stubborn  nature  and  firm  will,  but  more  proba¬ 
bly  it  was  to  save  the  attaint  of  his  family  and 

6  Ibd.,  266.  7  Fowler’s  ed.,  260.  8  Sewall  Papers,  L,  364. 


108  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

the  forfeiture  of  his  property,  which  would  fol¬ 
low  conviction  if  he  pleaded.  From  what  he 
had  seen  of  previous  trials,  he  probably  con¬ 
cluded  that  conviction  was  certain  in  his  case, 
especially  if  he  had  made  up  his  mind  not  to 
confess.  While  lying  in  jail  he  drew  up  and 
executed  a  paper  which  he  intended  should  op¬ 
erate  as  a  will,  but  which  was  in  reality  a  deed 


ANN  PUTNAM  HOUSE,  DANVERS. 

of  conveyance.  By  it  he  conveyed  all  his  prop¬ 
erty  to  William  Cleeves  and  John  Moulton,  his 
sons-in-law.  The  day  after  Corey’s  death 
Thomas  Putnam  sent  to  J udge  Sewall  the  follow¬ 
ing  communication  : 


MARTHA  AND  GILES  COREY. 


109 


Last  night  my  daughter  Ann  was  grieviously  tormented 
by  witches,  threatening  that  she  should  he  pressed  to  death 
before  Giles  Corey  ;  but  through  the  goodness  of  a  gracious 
God,  she  had,  at  last,  a  little  respite.  Whereupon  there 
appeared  unto  her  (she  said)  a  man  in  a  winding  sheet  who 
told  her  that  Giles  Corey  had  murdered  him  by  pressing 
him  to  death  with  his  feet  ;  hut  that  the  devil  then  ap¬ 
peared  unto  him  and  covenanted  with  him  and  promised 
him  that  he  should  not  be  hanged.  The  apparition  said 
God  hardened  his  heart  that  he  should  not  hearken  to  the 
advice  of  the  court,  and  so  die  an  easy  death ;  because,  as 
it  said,  it  must  he  done  to  him  as  he  had  done  to  me.  The 
apparition  also  said  that  Giles  Corey  was  carried  to  the 
court  for  this  and  that  the  jury  had  found  the  murder  ;  and 
that  her  father  knew  the  man  and  the  thing  was  done  be¬ 
fore  she  was  horn. 

This  letter  needs  a  little  explanation.  Corey 
appears  to  have  been  a  man  who,  in  early  life  if 
not  in  later,  did  about  as  he  pleased  in  the  com. 
munity,  and  had  little  consideration  for  the 
rights  of  others  or  for  their  feelings.  He  be¬ 
came  involved  in  law  suits,  and  even  got  into 
the  criminal  courts.®  Jacob  Groodell  who  worked 
for  him  was  carried  home  sick  by  Martha  Corey, 
and  soon  after  died.  The  gossips  said  his  death 
was  caused  by  a  beating  which  Corey  gave  him. 
The  coroner ^s  jury  said  the  man  had  been 
bruised  to  death,  ‘‘  having  dodders  of  blood 
about  the  heart.”  This  was  about  1676.  To 
this  case  Thomas  Putnam  refers  in  the  above 
quoted  statement.  The  affair  did  happen  before 

9  “  Giles  Coree  being  presented  upon  suspicion  of  abusing 
the  body  of  Jacob  Goodell  is  lined.”  Essex  County  Court 
Records,  Salem,  1676. 


110  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

Ann  Putnam  was  born,  but  tbe  arrest  of  Corey 
and  his  subsequent  horrible  death  must  have 
revived  all  the  old  stories  about  him.  No  doubt 
Ann  heard  them  at  this  time,  and  they  were 
sure,  under  the  circumstances,  to  lose  nothing  in 
the  re-telling.  Corey  was  also  before  the  court 
in  1678  on  suspicion  of  having  set  fire  to  John 
Procter’s  house.  His  innocence  was  clearly 
proved,  and  he  turned  on  Procter  and  other  of 
his  defamers  and  sued  them,  recovering  from  all 
of  them.  He  had  had  a  lawsuit  with  Procter 
previous  to  this.^®  In  other  ways  he  was  mixed 
up  unpleasantly  in  neighborhood  affairs. 
Whether  these  controversies  had  anything  to  do 
with  his  prosecution  for  witchcraft  in  1692,  or 
the  severity  with  which  he  was  dealt,  I  am  un¬ 
able  to  say.  Their  revival  would  not  aid  him, 
certainly.  Sewall  says  of  the  charge  that  Corey 
stamped  and  pressed  a  man  to  death,  that 
“  ’twas  not  remembered  till  Ane  Putnam  was 
told  of  it  by  said  Corey’s  spectre  the  Sabbath 
night  before  the  execution. It  is  hardly  pos¬ 
sible  that  a  man  could  be  arrested  and  dealt 
with  in  the  manner  Corey  was  and  no  one  re¬ 
member  and  recall  that  fourteen  and  sixteen 
years  before  he  had  been  charged  with  murder 
and  arson. 

10  “  Jolm  Prokter  against  Giles  Corye,  defendant  in  an  action 
of  appeal  from  a  judgement  of  Maj.  Hathorne  in  August  last, 
the  jury  found  for  the  defendant,  the  confirmation  of  the  for¬ 
mer  judgement.”  Essex  County  Court  Records,  Salem. 

11  Sewall  Papers,  I.,  364. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


STORY  OR  RRBRCCA  NURSR. 


^g^VJEBECCA  Nurse  was  born  in  Yarmouth, 
England,  and  baptised  there  on  February 
21, 1621.  This  would  make  her  71  years 
of  age  at  the  time  of  the  witchcraft  troubles. 
She  was  daughter  of  William  Towne  and  wife 
of  Francis  Nurse  of  Salem  Village.  Nurse  lived 
from  about  1638  to  1678  near  what  is  now 
Skerry  street  in  the  city  of  Salem.  His  occupa¬ 
tion  was  that  of  tray-maker.  In  1678  he  pur¬ 
chased  the  farm  in  Salem  Village  then  known 
as  the  Townsend  Bishop  farm,  now  better  known 
as  the  Nurse  farm. 

The  history  of  the  place  is  this  :  Townsend 
Bishop,  on  January  16,  1636,  received  a  grant  of 
300  acres  of  land  in  the  Village.  On  this  he 
built  a  substantial  house.  That  house  is  stand¬ 
ing  to-day,  and  is  the  widely  known  Eebecca 
Nurse  house.  Its  identity  is  proved  beyond 
question  by  documentary  evidence.  Bishop  sold 
the  estate  in  1641,  to  Henry  Chickering,  who  in 
turn  sold  it  to  Governor  Endicott  in  1648  for 


112 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE 


BEBECCA  KUBSE  HOUSE 


THE  STORY  OF  REBECCA  NURSE. 


113 


£160.  Endicott  gave  the  farm  to  his  son  John 
in  1653,  hut  did  not  execute  the  deed  until  1662. 
The  governor  died  in  1665,  and  a  lawsuit  fol¬ 
lowed  over  the  will.  It  was  finally  settled  by 
the  general  court  in  favor  of  young  John  and 
his  wife.  John  died  in  1668,  and  his  widow 
married  in  August  of  that  year,  E-ev.  James 
Allen,  a  minister  of  the  First  Church  in  Boston. 
She  died  in  1673,  and  thus  the  Bishop  farm  be¬ 
came  the  property  of  Allen,  who  sold  it  to 
Nurse  in  1678  for  £400.  Nurse  was  to  have 
twenty-one  years  in  which  to  pay  for  the  prop¬ 
erty,  paying  in  the  meantime  an  annual  rental 
of  £7  a  year  during  the  first  twelve  years  and 
£10  for  each  remaining  year. 

The  Nurses  were  blessed  with  eight  children, 
Samuel,  John,  Francis  and  Benjamin,  Eebecca, 
wife  of  Thomas  Preston,  Mary,  wife  of  John  Tar- 
bell,  Elizabeth,  wife  of  William  Bussell,  and 
Sarah,  then  unmarried.  They  dwelt  on  the  farm 
or  near  it,  and  in  a  short  time  Nurse  divided  the 
larger  part  among  them.i  From  all  the  informa¬ 
tion  that  has  come  down  to  us,  Salem  Village 
contained  no  more  prosperous,  happy  and  con¬ 
tented  family  than  this.  There  were  others  of 
much  greater  wealth,  but  none  that  promised 
more  enjoyment  in  old  age  than  that  reared  and 

IFor  the  information  about  the  Bishop-Nurse  farm,  also 
for  an  account  of  the  lawsuit  which  followed  the  purchase,  I 
am  indebted  to  the  diligent  researches  of  Mr.  Upham. 


114  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

established  at  Salem  Village  by  Francis  Nurse 
and  his  wife  Rebecca.  He  had  been  prominent 
and  honored  in  the  communities  where  he  dwelt. 
She  was  an  intelligent,  pious,  devout  woman,  a 
veritable  ‘‘  mother  in  Israel.^’  Against  her  good 
name  and  fair  fame  no  breath  of  suspicion  had 
yet  been  uttered.  The  first  trouble  appears  to 
have  come  to  this  family  soon  after  the  purchase 
of  the  Bishop  farm.  Allen  had  guaranteed  the 
title.  He  was  soon  called  upon  to  defend  it 
against  the  claims  of  Zerubabel  Endicott,  who 
claimed  a  boundary  line  to  the  Endicott  posses¬ 
sions  that  pushed  back  the  eastern  bounds  of  the 
Bishop  farm.  The  controversy  was  a  long  one, 
going  finally  to  the  General  Court  for  settle¬ 
ment.  It  was  decided  against  Endicott.  Nurse, 
to  be  sure,  was  only  indirectly  interested  in  the 
suit.  Allen  was  the  principal,  and  he  kept  his 
promise  to  defend  the  title.  Nathaniel  Putnam 
became  involved  in  the  suit.  Some  writers  al¬ 
lege  that  Nurse  thus  incurred  his  hostility  and 
that  this  was  one  of  the  incentives  to  the  subse¬ 
quent  prosecution  of  Rebecca  Nurse.  It  would 
seem  that  Putnam,  if  anything,  was  united  with 
Allen  and  Nurse  in  fighting  Endicott.  It  is 
even  less  likely  that  the  Topsfield  controversy 
engendered  ill-feeling  between  the  Village  peo¬ 
ple  and  the  Nurse  family  which  lasted  until 
witchcraft  days.  This  affair  may  as  well  be  nar¬ 
rated  at  this  point. 


THE  STORY  OF  REBECCA  NURSE.  115 

In  1636  the  General  Court  defined  the  bounds 
of  Salem,  Ipswich  and  Newbury  as  extending 
six  miles  into  the  country,  measuring  from  their 
respective  meeting  houses.  Three  years  later, 
the  same  power,  in  consideration  that  the  inhab¬ 
itants  of  Salem  had  agreed  to  plant  a  village 
near  the  river  that  runs  to  Ipswich,  ordered  that 
all  lands  near  their  bounds  between  Salem  and 
the  river,  not  belonging  to  any  person  or  town 
by  former  grant,  should  belong  to  said  village. 
The  farmers  of  Salem  Village  thereupon  began  to 
push  settlements  beyond  the  six-mile  limit. 
They  cleared  the  forests  and  built  houses.  In 
1643  the  General  Court,  unmindful  of  its  grant 
to  the  Salem  Village  people,  authorized  the  in¬ 
habitants  of  Ipswich  to  locate  on  the  same  terri¬ 
tory  and  establish  a  village.  The  town  of  Ips¬ 
wich  was  incorporated  October  18,  1650,  and  in 
1658  a  portion  of  the  disputed  land  was  made  a 
part  of  the  town.  This  brought  into  direct  con¬ 
flict  the  Village  men,  who  had  taken  up  lands 
under  the  vote  of  the  General  Court  in  1639, 
and  those  who  settled  under  the  act  of  1643. 
John  Putnam  of  the  Village  and  others  of  his 
great  family  and  of  the  settlement  met  the 
Easteys  and  Townes  of  Topsfield  on  the  disputed 
ground  and  had  angry  words  with  them.  Not 
until  1728,  when  the  town  of  Middleton  was 
incorporated,  to  include  most  of  the  disputed 
territory  from  the  Village  and  Topsfield,  was  the 
dispute  settled. 


116  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

Isaac  Easty’s  wife  was  sister  of  Rebecca 
Nurse.  The  Townes,  John  and  Joseph,  jr., 
were  nearly  related  to  her.  While  most  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Village  took  sides  against  the 
Topsfield  men,  the  Nurse  family  supported 
them.  When  the  Village  meeting  passed  a  pro¬ 
test  against  the  Topsfield  claim,  Samuel  Nurse, 
Rebecca’s  oldest  son,  and  Thomas  Preston,  her 
son-in-law,  entered  their  written  dissent. 
Whether  this  long  and  bitter  controversey  had 
anything  to  do  with  the  prosecution  of  Rebecca 
Nurse  and  Mary  Easty  is  left  to  conjecture.  It 
is  certain  that  Thomas  Preston  joined  with 
Thomas  and  Edward  Putnam  in  signing  the 
complaint  against  Sarah  Good  in  1692.  Does 
not  this  indicate  that  whatever  ill-feelings  arose 
from  the  Topsfield  feud,  thirty  years  before,  had 
been  entirely  forgotten,  or  at  least  forgiven? 

The  complaint  against  Rebecca  Nurse  was 
made  by  these  same  Putnams,  Thomas  and  Ed¬ 
ward.  They  complained  against  her  for  vehe¬ 
ment  suspicion  of  having  committed  sundry  acts 
of  witchcraft  ”  upon  Mrs.  Ann  Putnam,  Ann 
Putnam,  jr.,  and  Abigail  Williams.  The  justi¬ 
ces  issued  their  warrant  on  March  23.  On  the 
following  day  Marshal  Herrick  made  return  that 
he  had  apprehended  the  within  named  Rebecca 
Nurse  and  lodged  her  at  Nathaniel  IngersolPs.” 
The  examination  took  place  on  the  24th.  The 
record  of  that  examination,  as  made  by  Rev. 


THE  STORY  OF  REBECCA  NURSE.  117 


Samuel  Parris  at  the  request  of  the  magistrates, 
was  as  follows  : 

What  do  you  say  (speaking  to  one  of  the  afflicted),  have 
you  seen  this  woman  hurt  you? — Yes,  she  beat  me  this 
morning. 

Abigail,  have  you  been  hurt  by  this  woman  ?  Yes. 

Ann  Putnam  in  a  grievous  fit  cried  out,  that  she  hurt 
her. 

Goody  Nurse,  here  are  two,  Ann  Putnam  the  child  and 
Abigail  Williams,  complain  of  your  hurting  them.  What 
do  you  say  to  it?— I  can  say  before  my  eternal  father  I  am 
innocent  and  God  will  clear  my  innocency.  Here  is  never 
a  one  in  the  assembly  but  desires  it.  But  if  you  be  guilty, 
pray  God  discover  you. 

Then  Hen.  Kenny  rose  up  to  speak.  Goodm.  Kenny, 
what  do  you  say  ?  Then  he  entered  his  complaint  and  far¬ 
ther  said  that  since  this  Nurse  came  into  the  house  he  was 
seized  twice  with  an  amas’d  condition.  Here  are  not  only 
these  but  here  is  ye  wife  of  Mr.  Thomas  Putnam  who 
accuseth  you  by  credible  information  &  that  both  of 
tempting  her  to  iniquity  and  of  greatly  hurting  her. — I  am 
innocent  &  clear  &  have  not  been  able  to  get  out  of  doors 
these  8  or  9  days. 

Mr.  Putnam,  give  in  what  you  have  to  say.  Then  Mr. 
Edward  Putnam  gave  in  his  relate. 

Is  this  true.  Goody  Nurse? — I  never  afflicted  no  child, 
never  in  my  life. 

You  see  these  accuse  you.  Is  it  true? — No. 

Are  you  an  innocent  person  relating  to  this  witchcraft  ? 
Here  Thomas  Putnam’s  wife  cried  out,  did  you  not  bring 
the  black  man  with  you  ?  Did  you  not  bid  me  tempt  God 
and  dye  ?  How  oft  have  you  eat  and  drunk  your  own  dam¬ 
nation. 

What  do  you  say  to  them  ? — 0  Lord,  help  me — and  spread 
out  her  hands  &  the  afflicted  were  grieviously  vexed. 

Do  not  you  see  these  afflicted  persons  &  hear  them  accuse 


118  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


you  ? — The  Lord  knows  I  have  not  hurt  them.  I  am  an  in¬ 
nocent  person. 

It  is  very  awful  for  all  to  see  these  agonies  and  you  an 
old  professor,  thus  charged  with  contracting  with  the  devil 
by  the  effects  of  it,  and  yet  to  see  you  stand  with  dry  eyes 
when  there  are  so  many  wet. — You  do  not  know  my  heart. 

You  would  do  well  if  you  are  guilty  to  confess  and  give 
glory  to  God. — I  am  as  clear  as  the  child  unborn. 

"What  uncertainty  there  may  be  in  apparitions  I  know 
not,  yet  this  with  me  strikes  hard  upon  you,  that  you  are  at 
this  very  present  charged  with  familiar  spirits,  this  is  your 
bodily  person  they  speak  to.  They  say  now  they  see  these 
familiar  spirits  come  to  your  bodily  person,  now  what  do 
you  say  to  that  ? — I  have  none,  sir. 

Possibly  you  may  apprehend  you  are  no  witch,  but  have 
you  not  been  led  aside  by  temptations  that  way  ? — I  have 
not. 

Tell  us,  have  you  not  had  vissible  appearances  more  than 
what  is  common  in  nature  ? — I  have  none  nor  never  had  in 
my  life. 

Do  you  think  these  suffer  voluntary  or  involuntary  ? — I 
cannot  tell. 

That  is  strange,  every  one  can  judge. — I  must  be  silent. 

They  accuse  you  of  hurting  them  &  if  you  think  it  is  not 
unwillingly  but  by  design  you  must  look  upon  them  as 
murderers. — I  cannot  tell  what  to  think  of  it. 

Afterwards  when  this  was  somewhat  insisted  on  she  said, 
I  do  not  think  so.  She  did  not  understand  aright  what  was 
said. 

Well,  then,  give  an  answer  now,  do  you  think  these  suf¬ 
fer  against  their  wills  or  not?  I  do  not  think  these  suffer 
against  their  wills. 

Why  did  you  never  visit  these  afldicted  persons  ? — Be¬ 
cause  I  was  afraid  I  should  have  fits  too. 

Upon  motion  of  her  body  fits  followed  upon  the  com¬ 
plainants  abundantly  and  very  frequently. 

Is  it  not  an  unaccountable  case  that  when  you  are  exam¬ 
ined  these  persons  are  afflicted  ? — I  have  got  nobody  to  look 
to  but  God. 


THE  STORY  OF  REBECCA  NURSE.  119 


Again  npon  stirring  her  hands  the  afflicted  persons  were 
seized  wdth  violent  fits  of  torture. 

Do  you  believe  these  afflicted  persons  are  bewitched  ? — I 
do  think  they  are. 

When  this  witchcraft  came  upon  the  stage  there  was  no 
suspicion  of  Tituba  (Mr.  Parris’  Indian  woman),  she  pro¬ 
fessed  much  love  to  that  child,  Betty  Parris,  but  it  was  her 
apparition  did  the  mischief,  and  why  should  not  you  also, 
be  guilty,  for  your  apparition  doth  hurt  also? — Would  you 
have  me  belie  myself  ? 

She  held  her  neck  on  one  side  and  accordingly  so  were 
the  afflicted  taken. 

Then  authority  requiring  it,  Sam.  Parris  read  what  he  had 
in  characters  taken  from  Mr.  Thomas  Putnam’s  wife  in  her 
fits. 

What  do  you  think  of  this? — I  cannot  help  it,  the  devil 
may  appear  in  my  shape. 

This  is  a  true  account  of  the  sum  of  her  examination,  but 
by  reason  of  great  noises  by  the  afflicted  and  many  speakers 
many  things  are  pretermitted  memorandum. 

Nurse  held  her  head  on  one  side  and  Elizabeth  Hubbard 
(one  of  the  sufferers)  had  her  neck  set  in  that  posture, 
whereupon  another  patient,  Abigail  Williams,  cried  out, 
set  up  Goody  Nurse’s  head,  the  maid’s  neck  will  be  broke, 
and  when  some  set  up  Nurse’s  head  Aaron  Way  observed 
that  Betty  Hubbard’s  was  immediately  righted. 

Salem  Village,  March  24th  169^  The  Rev.  Samuel  Parris 
being  desired  to  take  in  writing  the  examination  of  Rebec¬ 
ca  Nurse  hath  returned  it  as  aforesaid  and  seeing  what  we 
then  did  see  together  with  the  charge  of  the  persons  then 
present  w^e  committed  Rebecca  Nurse,  the  wife  of  Francis 
Nurse,  of  Salem  Village  unto  their  majesties’  goal  in  Salem 
as  per  a  mittimus  then  given  out  in  order  to  further  exam¬ 
ination. 

John  Hathorne, 
Jonathan  Corwin,  asts. 

Goody  Nurse  remained  in  jail  until  the  first  of 
June,  when  she  was  brought  before  the  grand 


120 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


jury.  On  June  2  the  jury  returned  four  indict¬ 
ments  against  her.  The  first  was  for  afflicting 
Ann  Putnam  on  March  24 ;  the  second  and  third 
for  afflicting  Mary  Walcott  and  Elizabeth  Hub¬ 
bard  on  the  same  day,  and  the  fourth  charged 
her  with  afflicting  Abigail  Williams.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  the  date  of  the  offences  alleged  in 
these  several  indictments  is  that  of  the  day  of 
the  preliminary  examination.  The  same  is 
noticeable  in  most  of  these  witchcraft  cases.  In 
few  of  the  indictments  is  the  same  date  of  of¬ 
fence  alleged  as  in  the  original  complaint  before 
the  justices.  The  witnesses  in  the  case  were 
summoned  to  be  present  on  Thursday,  June  2 ; 
the  testimonies  of  Ann  Putnam,  Mary  Walcott 
and  others  against  Nurse  are  dated  and  sworn  to 
June  2  and  3,  and  the  indictments  bear  the  same 
date.  The  court  convened  again  on  June  28 
and  there  is  on  the  files  a  “  petition  on  behalf  of 
Pebecca  Nurse  ”  presented  to  the  court  “  now 
sitting  in  Salem. It  would  seem  that  the  trial 
must  have  been  delayed  from  the  3rd  to  the 
28th.  At  the  trial  which  followed,  Ann  Putnam 
deposed  that  on  the  13th  of  March  she 

“  Saw  the  apparition  of  Goody  Nurse,  and  she  did  imme¬ 
diately  afflict  me,  hut  I  did  not  know  what  her  name  was 
then,  though  I  knew  where  she  used  to  sit  in  our  meeting 
house,  hut  since  that  she  hath  grievously  afflicted  by 
biting,  pinching  and  pricking  me,  and  urging  me  to  write 
in  her  book  and  also  on  the  fourth  day  of  March,  being  the 
day  of  her  examination,  I  was  grievously  tortured  by  her 


THE  STORY  OF  REBECCA  NURSE. 


121 


during  the  time  of  her  examination,  and  also  several  times 
ince,  and  also  during  the  time  of  her  examination  I  saw 
e  apparition  of  Rebecca  Nurse  go  and  hurt  the  hodys  of 
ercy  Lewis,  Mary  Walcott,  Elizabeth  Hubbard  and  Abi¬ 
gail  Williams.” 


The  deposition  of  Mary  Walcott  was  in  about 
the  same  language  as  the  above,  save  that  the 
apparition  of  Eebecca  Nurse  would  kill  her  if 
she  did  not  write  in  the  book,  and  that  Nurse 
told  her  she  had  a  hand  in  the  death  of  Ben¬ 
jamin  Houlton,  John  Harwood,  Eebecca  Shepard 
and  several  others.’’  She  saw  the  apparition  of 
Goody  Nurse  during  her  examination  go  and 
hurt  the  bodies  of  Ann  Putnam,  Mercy  Lewis, 
Elizabeth  Hubbard  and  Abigail  Williams.  The 
depositions  of  Elizabeth  Hubbard  and  Abigail 
Williams  differed  but  little  in  tenor  or  in  lan¬ 
guage  from  the  above.  Williams  claimed  to 
have  been  afflicted  by  Nurse  on  March  15,  16,  20, 
21,  23,  31,  and  also  on  several  days  in  May. 
Nurse  had  tempted  her  to  leap  into  the  fire,  and 
she  had  ‘‘  seen  the  apparition  of  a  sacrament 
sitting  next  to  [the  man]  with  a  high  crowned 
hat.”  It  had  also  confessed  to  her  “  its  guilt  in 
committing  several  murders  together  with  her 
sister  Cloys.”  The  testimony  of  Sarah  Vibber 
appears  to  have  been  given  later  in  the  month, 
for  she  deposed  to  being  pinched  and  choked  by 
the  apparition  of  Eebecca  Nurse  on  June  27. 
Among  the  other  depositions  in  the  case  are  the 
following : 


122  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


The  deposition  of  Johannah  Childin  [Sheldon]  testifieth 
and  saith  that  ypon  the  2nd  of  June,  1692, 'that  the  aperi- 
tion  of  Goody  Nuss  and  Goodman  Harwood  did  apeare  to 
her  and  the  said  Harwood  did  look  Goody  Nuss  in  the  face 
and  said  to  her  that  she  did  murder  him  by  pushing  him  off 
the  cart  and  strock  the  breath  out  of  his  body.” 

Edward  Putnam  deposed  that  “  on  March  26  Ann  Put¬ 
nam,  sen.,  was  bitten  by  Rebecca  Nurs  as  she  said  did, 
about  2  of  the  clock  the  same  day  she  was  strock  with  a 
chane  the  mark  being  in  a  band  of  a  round  ring  and  three 
stroaks  across  the  ring  she  had  six  bios  with  a  chane  in  the 
space  of  half  an  ower,  and  she  had  one  remarkable  one 
with  six  stroakes  across  her  arme.  I  saw  the  mark  both  of 
bite  and  chane.” 

Sarah  Holten^s  deposition  is  the  only  paper 
among  all  those  on  file  that  gives  any  informa¬ 
tion  that  Rebecca  Nurse  ever  had  trouble  with 
her  neighbors  or  ever  was  called  a  railer  and 
brawler.  Perhaps  in  this  case,  allowance  should 
be  made  for  the  possible  exaggeration  of  an 
angry  and  excited  neighbor.  The  widow 
Houlton  deposed  as  follows  ; 

About  this  time  three  years  ago  my  dear  &  loving  hus¬ 
band,  Benjamin  Houlten,  deceased,  was  as  well  as  ever  I 
knew  him  in  my  life,  till  one  Saturday  morning  that  Re¬ 
becca  Nurse  who  now  stands  charged  for  witchcraft  came 
to  our  house  and  fell  railing  at  him  because  our  pigs  got 
into  her  field,  tho  our  pigs  were  sufficiently  yoked  and 
their  fence  was  down  in  several  places,  yet  all  we  could  say 
to  her  could  no  ways  pacify  her  but  she  continued  railing 
and  scolding  for  a  great  while,  calling  to  her  son  Benj. 
Nurse  to  go  and  get  a  gun  and  kill  our  pigs  and  let  none  of 
them  go  out  of  the  field,  though  my  poor  husband  gave  her 
never  a  misbeholding  word,  and  within  a  short  time  after 
this  my  poor  husband,  going  out  very  early  in  the  morning, 
as  he  was  coming  in  again  he  was  taken  with  a  strange  fit 


THE  STORY  OF  REBECCA  NURSE.  123 


in  the  entry  being  struck  blind  and  struck  down  two  or 
three  times  so  that  when  he  came  to  himself  he  told  me  he 
thought  he  should  "never  have  come  into  the  house  any 
more,  and  all  stimmer  after  he  continued  in  a  languishing 
condition,  being  much  pained  at  his  stomach  and  often 
struck  blind,  but  about  a  fortnight  before  he  died  he  was 
taken  with  strange  and  violent  fits  acting  much  like  to 
our  poor  beloved  parsons  [persons]  when  we  thought  they 
would  have  died  and  the  doctor  that  was  with  him  could 
not  find  what  his  distemper  was,  and  the  day  before  he  died 
he  was  chearly,  but  about  midnight  he  was  again  most 
violently  seized  upon  with  violent  fits  till  the  next  night 
about  midnight,  he  departed  this  life  by  a  cruel  death. 

The  following  depositions  found  on  the  court 
files  indicate  that  there  were  those  who  dared  to 
testify  in  behalf  of  the  accused.  I  quote  both 
exactly  as  they  appear  in  the  originals  : 

John  Tarbell  being  at  the  house  of  Thomas  Putnam 
upon  the  28th  day  of  this  instant  March,  being  the  year 
1692,  upon  discourse  of  many  things  I  asked  them  some 
questions  and  among  others  I  asked  this  question  whether 
the  garle  that  was  afflicted  did  first  speak  of  Goody  Nurse 
before  others  mentioned  her  to  her,  they  said  she  told  them 
she  saw  the  apparishtion  of  a  pale-fast  woman  that  sat  in 
her  gran-mother’s  seat  but  did  not  know  her  name,  then  I 
replied  and  said,  but  who  was  it  that  told  her  that  it  was 
Good  Nurs ;  Mercy  Lewis  said  it  was  Goody  Putnam  that 
said  it  was  Goody  Nurs ;  Goody  Putnam  said  it  was  Mercy 
Lewes  that  told  her;  thus  they  turned  it  upon  one  another, 
saying  it  was  you  and  it  was  you  that  told  her,  this  was 
before  any  was  afflicted  at  Thoms  Putnam’s  beside  his 
daughter,  that  they  told  his  daughter  it  was  Goody  Nurs. 
Samuel  Nurs  doth  testifie  too  all  above  written. 

We  whos  names  are  underwritten  cane  testifie  if  cald  to 
it  that  Goodde  Nurs  have  beene  troubled  with  an  infirmity 
of  body  for  many  years  which  the  juries  of  women  seem  to 


124  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

be  afraid  it  should  be  somthing  else  Rbcah  Preson,  Mary 
Tarbel . 

This  last  statement  refers  to  the  witch  mark 
alleged  to  have  been  found  on  the  body  of  Re¬ 
becca  Nurse.  One  of  the  theories  of  the  age 
was  that  the  devil  set  his  mark  upon  each  of 
his  servants  ;  that  witches  were  all  marked.  A 
jury  of  the  sex  of  the  accused  was  appointed  to 
examine  the  body  for  such  marks.  It  often 
happened  that  some  excresence  of  flesh  common 
to  old  people,  or  one  explainable  by  natural 
causes,  was  found.  One  such  had  been  found 
on  the  body  of  Goody  Nurse,  and  reported  to 
the  court,  all  but  one  of  the  jury  agreeing  to  the 
report.  Rebecca  Preston  and  Mary  Tarbell 
knew  that  the  mark  was  from  natural  causes. 
The  prisoner  stated  to  the  court  that  the  dis¬ 
senting  woman  of  the  jury  of  examination  was 
one  of  the  most  ancient,  skilful  and  prudent, 
and  further  declared,  I  there  rendered  a  suffi¬ 
cient  known  reason  of  the  moving  cause 
thereof.”  She  asked  for  the  appointment  of 
another  jury  to  inquire  into  the  case  and  exam¬ 
ine  the  marks  found  on  her  person.  No  docu¬ 
ments  have  been  found  to  indicate  whether  her 
request  was  granted.  Probably  it  was  not. 

The  jury  of  trials  returned  a  verdict  of  not 
guilty  on  June  28.  Thereupon  all  the  accusers 
in  court  cried  out  ”  with  renewed  vigor  and 
were  taken  in  the  most  violent  fits,  rolling  and 


THE  STORY  OF  REBECCA  NURSE.  125 

tumbling  about,  creating  a  scene  of  the  wildest 
confusion.  The  judges  told  the  jurymen  that 
they  had  not  carefully  considered  one  expression 
of  the  prisoner,  namely,  that  when  one,  Hobbs, 
a  confessing  witch,  was  brought  in  as  evidence 
against  her  she  said  :  What,  do  you  bring  her  ? 
She  is  one  of  us.”  The  jury  retired  for  further 
consultation. 2  Even  then  they  could  not  agree 
upon  a  verdict  of  guilty.  They  returned  to  the 
court  room  and  desired  that  the  accused  explain 
the  remark.  She  made  no  response  and  the  jury 
returned  a  verdict  of  guilty.®  On  being  in¬ 
formed  that  her  silence  had  been  construed  as  a 
confession  of  guilt,  the  prisoner  made  this 
statement : 

These  presence  do  humbly  show  to  the  honored  court  and 
jury,  that  I  being  informed  that  the  jury  brought  me  in 
guilty  upon  my  saying  that  Goodwife  Hobbs  and  her 
daughter  were  of  our  company;  but  I  intended  no  other¬ 
wise  than  as  they  were  prisoners  with  us,  and  therefore  did 
then,  and  yet  do  judge  them  not  legal  evidence  against 
their  fellow  prisoners:  and  I  being  something  hard  of 
hearing,  and  full  of  grief,  none  informing  me  how  the  court 
took  up  my  words,  and  therefore  had  not  an  opportunity  to 
*•  declare  what  I  intended  when  I  said  they  were  of  our  com¬ 
pany. 

Grave  charges  have  been  made  against  the 
chief  justice  in  this  case  by  some  writers,  to 
the  effect  that  he  fairly  forced  the  jury  to  go 
out  after  the  verdict  of  not  guilty  and  that  he 
practically  told  them  to  reverse  the  verdict. 

2  Neal’s  New  England,  II.,  143  ;  Calef,  Fowler’s  Ed.  251. 


\Fac~Simile  of  page  of  Examination  of  Rebecca  Nurse.l 


126 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


THE  STORY  OF  REBECCA  NURSE.  127 


128  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

Thomas  Fisk,  one  of  the  jurymen,  made  a  state¬ 
ment  a  few  days  after  the  trial,  in  which  he 
says,  the  court  “  objected  to  the  verdict,’^  and' 

manifested  dissatisfaction,^’  and  several  of 
the  jury  declared  themselves  desirous  to  go  out 
again  and  thereupon  the  court  gave  leave.”  He 
further  stated  that  he  “could  not  tell  how  to 
take  the  words  in  question  till  she  had  further 
opportunity  to  put  her  sense  upon  them  ;  ”  that 
going  into  court  and  mentioning  the  words  and 
she  making  no  reply  nor  interpretation  of  them, 
“  whereupon  these  words  were  to  me  a  principal 
evidence  against  her.”^ 

It  is  plain  from  all  the  evidence  upon  this 
point  that  had  the  court  as  counsel  for  the  ac¬ 
cused,  which  it  was  then  in  the  theory  of  the 
law,  guarded  her  interests,  Rebecca  Nurse  would 
not  have  been  convicted.  The  question  pro¬ 
pounded  to  her  by  the  jury  would  have  been  so 
explained  that  she  could  understand  and  answer 
it.  After  conviction  she  was  sentenced  to  be 
hanged.  The  Governor  granted  a  reprieve. 
Thereupon,  she  was  excommunicated  from  the 
church,  as  the  following  from  the  records  of  the 
First  Church  in  Salem  will  show  : 

1692.  July  3.  After  sacrament,  the  elders  propounded 
to  the  church — and  it  was  by  xmanimous  vote  consented  to 

3  Fisk  quoted  the  exclamation  thus:  “What,  do  these  per- 
sons  give  in  evidence  against  me  now?  They  used  to  come 
among  us.”  This  differs  very  materially  from  the  words 
quoted  above  from  Neal  and  Calef. 


THE  STORY  OF  REBECCA  NURSE.  129 

—  that  our  sister  Nurse,  being  a  convicted  witch  by  the 
court,  and  condemned  to  die,  should  be  excommunicated ; 
which  was  accordingly  done  in  the  afternoon,  she  being 
present. 

P[plLam  says  this  was  meant  to  be  understood 
.^as  an  eternal  doom.^  People  in  those  days 
looked  upon  excommunicatidn''ft’tnnHfhe-'ehTtrch 
explilsToh  From  'HeaveiF  What  then  "miust 
have  been  the  feelings  of  this  woman  as  she 
stood  in  the  presence  of  her  almost  life-long 
church,  a  church  which  she  loved,  and  to  which 
she  had  been  true  and  loyal  for  more  than  half 
a  century,  with  the  chains  of  a  condemned 
witch  clanking  about  ,.heg^^tto:^^and  tottering 
limbSj  aniT  Heard  the  awfuL-doofift^'-ef-  her  soul 
pronounced  ?  ^  Happily  the  age  of  superstition 
is  passed,  and  we  know  that  wherever  the 
noblest  and  best  of  mankind  and  womankind 
abide  there  rests  the  soul  of  this  saint  and 
martyr. 

Immediately  on  the  reprieve  being  granted 
the  afflicted  renewed  their  clamors.  They 
claimed  to  be  again  grievously  afflicted.  Their 
renewed  complaints,  the  action  of  the  church  at 
Salem,  and  the  clamors  of  some  Salem  gentle¬ 
man  ”  influenced  the  Governor  to  recall  the  re- 

4  Salem  Witchcraft,  II.,  291. 

6  The  sentence  of  excommunication  was  erased  from  the 
church  book  about  1712.  ^ 


130  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


prieve  and  approve  the  sentence.  Rebecca  Kurse 
was,  therefore,  on  July  19,  carted  to  the  summit 
of  jlallows  hill  and  hanged. 

/^They  hanged  this  weary  woman  there, 

Like  any  felon  stout ; 

^er  w^hite  hairs  on  the  cruel  rope 
\Were  scattered  all  about. 


I 


6  “  Th*  Deatli  of  Goody  Nurse,”  by  Rose  Terry 


SABAH  HOLTEN  HOUSE,  DANVEBS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


RI^V.  GMORGR  BURROUGHS. 


speaking  of  Eev.  George  Burroughs,  it 
seems  proper  to  allude  briefly  to  the  early 
history  of  the  Salem  Village  church.  The 
witchcraft  prosecutions  have  some  times  been  at¬ 
tributed  to  the  feelings  engendered  by  the  dis¬ 
agreements  over  the  settlement  of  a  pastor  of  the 
parish.  Up.  to  1671  the  people  of  Salem  Yilllage 
worshiped  with  the  mother  church  in  Salem.  On 
March  22  of  that  year  (1672  0.  S.)  the  t(^wn  of 
Salem  voted  that  the  farmers  at  the  Village 
should  ^‘have  liberty  to  have  a  minister  by 
themselves,  and  when  they  should  provide  and 
pay  him  in  maintenance  they  should  be  dis- 
ch'arged  from  their  part  of  the  Salem  minister’s 
^intenance.”^  Kev.  James  Bayley  became 
‘^supply”  minister  of  the  parish  in  Nov.  1672,  and 
a  meeting  house  was  erected  in  1673.  Some 
dissatisfaction  was  manifested  with  the  manner 
of  his  call.  The  feeling  increasing  in  intensity, 

1  Salem  Town  Records;  Hanson’s  Hist.  Danvers,  223. 


132  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

an  appeal  was  made  to  the  parent  church  in 
Salem.  Among  Bayley’s  opponents  were 
Nathaniel  Putnam  and  Bray  Wilkins,  men  of 
wealth  and  influence  in  the  community.  The 
dispute  finally  reached  the  General  Court.  That 
body  decided  in  favor  of  the  minister,  and  or¬ 
dered  that  he  be  continued  and  settled,  and  be 
allowed  £60  per  annum,  one-third  in  money  and 
two-thirds  in  provisions  and  fuel  for  his  family .2 
The  people  of  the  parish  paid  no  attention  to 
this  order,  and  in  1679  Mr.  Bayley  resigned. 
Bayley  came  to  the  Village  from  Newbury, 
where  he  had  married  Mary  Carr.  His  wife’s 
sister,  Ann  Carr,  accompanied  them  to  Salem 
Village  where,  in  1678,  she  married  Sergt. 
Thomas  Putnam,^  of  whom  we  shall  hear  much 
before  we  have  finished  this  story.  This  united 
the  minister’s  family  with  the  wealthiest  and 
most  powerful  family  in  the  place. 

George  Burroughs  was  engaged  as  preacher  in 
place  of  Mr.  Bayley  in  November,  1680.  Grad¬ 
uating  from  Harvard  in  1670,  he  early  went  into 
the  district  of  Maine  to  preach,  and  dwelt  for 
some  time  at  Casco,  now  Portland,  where  he  re¬ 
ceived  a  grant  of  150  acres  of  land  in  a  section 
now  the  very  heart  of  the  city.  This  land  he 
generously  gave  to  the  town  in  later  years.  Mr. 
Burroughs  early  encountered  hostility  in  his  new 

2  Rice’s  Hist.  First  Parish  in  Danvers,  15. 

3  Savage’s  Genealogical  Dictionary. 


REV.  GEORGE  BURROUGHS.  133 

parish  in  Danvers,  as  was  quite  natural,  from 
the  partisans  of  his  predecessor.  His  salary 
was  not  promptly  paid,  and  when,  in  1681,  his 
wife  died,  he  had  no  money  to  pay  the  funeral 
expenses.  A  violent  dispute  raged  in  the  parish 
between  the  Bayley  and  anti-Bayley  factions, 
and  Burroughs  gave  up  the  pastorate  in  1682. 
Even  this  did  not  end  his  troubles.  He  came 
back  from  Maine,  whither  he  had  moved,  to 
“  get  a  reckoning  ”  or  settlement,  and  was  ar¬ 
rested  for  a  debt  due  to  John  Putnam.  Yet  on 
the  very  day  of  his  arrest  he  had  signed  an 
order  for  the  payment  to  Thomas  Putnam  of  the 
amount  due  to  himself  from  the  parish.  It  ap¬ 
pears  by  a  bill  on  file  on  the  records  that  when 
Burroughs’  wife  died,  John  Putnam  allowed  him 
to  buy  two  gallons  of  Canary  rum,  some  cloth 
and  other  articles  on  his  account.  The  debt  was 
for  less  than  £14,  and  the  parish  owed  Bur¬ 
roughs  £33  6s.  8d.,  so  that  Putnam  was  amply 
secured.** 

Rev.  Deodat  Lawson  succeeded  Mr.  Bur¬ 
roughs,  coming  to  the  Village  in  1684.  He 
found  much  discord  prevailing,  not  only  over 
the  settlements  of  Bayley  and  Burroughs  but 
also  over  the  parish  records,  which  it  was  alleged 
had  not  been  correctly  kept  during  their  minis¬ 
tries.  Both  disputes  were  referred  to  members 
of  the  church  in  Salem  for  advice.  The  advice 


4  Salem  Witchcraft,  II.,  262. 


134  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

given  was  that  certain  changes  be  made  in  the 
records.  Harmony  could  not  be  secured,  how¬ 
ever,  and  Mr.  Lawson  withdrew  in  1688.  Fol¬ 
lowing  him  came  Kev.  Samuel  Parris,  who  was 
ordained  on  Monday,  Hov.  19,  1689,  It  is  evi¬ 
dent,  therefore,  that  from  the  calling  of  Mr. 
Bayley  in  1672  to  the  ordination  of  Mr.  Parris 
in  1689  there  was  wanting  in  the  parish  that 
harmony  so  essential  to  church  prosperity. 
That  the  disagreements  about  the  settlements 
of  the  different  pastors  and  over  the  parish  rec¬ 
ords  affected  the  minds  of  the  people  after  the 
witchcraft  delusion  appeared  among  them  there 
is  little  doubt.  That  it  was  the  cause  of  the 
first  charges  being  made  seems  hardly  probable. 

George  Burroughs,  on  leaving  Salem  Village, 
returned  to  Casco,  Maine.  He  remained  there  a 
long  time,  for  he  and  others  were  there  in  1690 
when  the  settlement  was  raided  by  Indians. 
Burroughs  then  went  to  Wells,  Maine,  and 
preached  a  year  or  more.  There  he  was  living 
in  peace  and  quietness  when  the  messenger  from 
Portsmouth  came  to  arrest  him,  at  the  demand 
of  the  Salem  magistrates,  in  1692.  After  leav¬ 
ing  Salem  Village  he  had  married  a  third  wife, 
a  woman  who  had  been  previously  married  and 
had  children  of  her  own ;  for  after  Burroughs^ 
death,  when  the  Massachusetts  colony  granted 
compensation  to  his  family,  his  children  com¬ 
plained  that  this  third  Mrs.  Burroughs  took  the 


REV.  GEORGE  BURROUGHS. 


135 


entire  amount  for  herself  and  her  children.^  Mr. 
Burroughs  was  a  small,  black-haired,  dark  com- 
plexioned  man,  of  quick  passions  and  possessing 
great  strength.®  We  shall  see  by  the  testimony 
to  be  quoted  further  on  that  most  of  the  evi¬ 
dence  against  him  consisted  of  marvellous  tales 
of  his  great  feats  of  strength.  We  are  told 
that,  “  his  power  of  muscle  discovered  itself 
early  when  Burroughs  was  a  member  of  Cam¬ 
bridge  college,  which  fact  convinces  us  that  he 
lifted  the  gun  and  the  barrel  of  molasses  by  the 
power  of  his  own  well-strung  muscle  and  not  by 
any  help  of  the  devil.”^  Sullivan,  in  his  History 
of  Maine,  says  that  Burroughs  was  a  man  of 
bad  character  and  cruel  disposition.®  Fowler 
declared  that  his  researches  lead  him  to  a  dif¬ 
ferent  conclusion.^  Increase  Mather  wrote  that 
the  testimony  “proved  him  a  very  ill  man,'’^ 
and  confirmed  the  belief  of  the  character  which 
had  been  already  fastened  on  him.  Cotton 
Mather  says  in  his  account  that  his  tergiversa¬ 
tions,  contradictions  and  falsehoods  were  very 
sensible  at  his  examination  and  on  his  trial.’’ 
Hutchinson  says  of  Burroughs’  trial,  that  “  he 
was  confounded  and  used  many  twistings  and 
turnings,  which  I  think  we  cannot  wonder  at.”® 

6  Essex  Court  Records. 

6  Putnam’s  Salem  Witchcraft  Explained,  278. 

7 Calef’s  “More  Wonders,  etc.’’  Fowler’s  ed.,  278-290. 

8  p.  209.  9  Hist.  Mass.,  II.,  39. 


136  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

All  these  statements  appear  to  be  founded,  more 
or  less,  on  Cotton  Mather’s  Wonders  of  the 
Invisible  World.”  Unfortunately  we  have  none 
of  the  testimony  offered  for  the  defence,  if  any 
there  was.  Possibly  there  was  none.  Mr. 
Burroughs  was  nearly  a  hundred  miles  distant 
from  the  places  where  he  had  lived  much  of  his 
time,  and  far  from  his  friends.  He  was  among  - 
‘ti  people  largely  hostile,  and  perhaps  was  denied 
alL.opport_unity  to  obtain  witiiesses. 

Whatever  we  may  ^y  about  the  trials  being 
conducted  .  according  to  ..the _En^sh~T^w,  which 
did  not  then  allow  counsel  to  the  accused, 

,  but  in  theory  considered  the^judges^Hs  pounsel, 
Ht  is  undeniable  that  in  this  case,  as  in  many  oth¬ 
er  of  these  witchcraft  trials,  the  ihterests'of  the 
acpus^d  were  not  properly  guarded.  Xhel^hple 
conduct  of  the  indues,  from  beginnins:  to  end, 
was  that  of  prosecuting  attorneys.  Preconceived 
belief  in  th e'  guilt' '  bT~the  accused -is,eyidenced 
throughout  by  their  acte  and  by  their  words. 

The  only  ground  of  explanation,  and  that  by ' 
no  means  satisfactory,  and  certainly  not  a  justi¬ 
fication,  is  that  the  court  was  following  the 
advice  given  to  Major  Richards  by  Cotton 
Mather,  that  whatever  hath  a  tendency  to  put 
the  witches  into  confusion  is  likely  to  bring 
them  unto  confession  too.  Here  crosse  &  swift 
questions  have  their  use.”  .  .  ‘^A  credible 

confession  of  the  guilty  wretches  is  one  of  the 


REV.  GEORGE  BURROUGHS. 


137 


most  hopeful  ways  he  says,  of  coming  at 
them,  &  I  say  a  credible  confession,  because 
even  confession  itselfe  sometimes  is  not  credible. 

,  .  I  am  far  from  urging  the  un-English 

method  of  torture  ”  to  obtain  confessions. 

The  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  George  Bur¬ 
roughs  was  issued  in  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  on 
April  30,  1692,  by  Elisha  Hutchinson,  major,’^ 
directed  to  Jno.  Partridge,  ‘‘  field  marshal,’^  re¬ 
quiring  him  to  **  apprehend  the  body  of  Mr. 
George  Burroughs  at  present  preacher  at  Wells, 
in  the  Province  of  Maine  and  convey  him  with 
all  speed  to  Salem,  .  .  he  being  suspected  for 

a  confederacy  with  the  devil  in  oppressing  of 
sundry  about  Salem,  as  they  relate,’’  he  (Hutch¬ 
inson)  having  received  particular  order  from 
the  governor  and  council  of  their  majesties  col¬ 
ony  of  the  Massachusetts  for  the  same.”  Par¬ 
tridge  returned  that  by  virtue  of  the  warrant  he 
“  had  apprehended  said  George  Burroughs  and 
have  brought  him  to  Salem  and  delivered  him  to 
the  authork;y  there  this  fourth  day  of  May, 
1692.”ii 

Some  question  has  been  raised  about  the  haste 
with  which  the  arrest  was  made.  The  warrant 
was  issued  on  the  last  day  of  April.  On  May 
2,  Hutchinson  addressed  a  letter  to  Hathorne 
and  Corwin,  saying  he  had  “caused  Burroughs 
to  be  apprehended  and  sent  to  Salem.”  This 

10  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  VIII.,  391.  11  Ibd.,  Y.,  32. 


138  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


letter  Partridge  probably  took  to  Salem  with 
him  on  that  day.  This  would  give  him  two 
days  to  go  to  Wells  and  return  to  Portsmouth, 
and  the  third  and  fourth  in  which  to  reach 
Salem.  The  time  was  ample,  even  in  those 
days  of  slow  travel.  Depositions  charging 
Burroughs  with  being  concerned  in  the  witch¬ 
craft  business  had  been  made  as  early  as  April 
23.  Af^r  formal  complaint  had  been  made  aad- 
the  warrant  issued,  it  was  natural  that,  matters 
connected  with  the  arrest  should  be  expedited. 
BurYbughs  remained  in  jail  until  the  9th  of 
May,  when  he  was  examined.  Stoughton  and 
Sewall  come  down  to  assist  Hathorne  and  Cor¬ 
win  in  the  work.  A  private  inquiry  was  in¬ 
stituted  by  the  judges  and  the  ministers  of  the 
neighboring  churches.  The  record  of  that  por¬ 
tion  of  the  examination  is  as  follows  : 

Being  asked  when  he  partook  of  the  Lord’s  supper,  he 
being  (as  he  said)  in  full  communion  at  Roxbury,  he 
answered  it  was  so  long  since  he  could  not  tell,  yet  he  own¬ 
ed  he  was  at  meeting  one  Sabbath  at  Boston,  part  of  the 
day,  and  the  other  at  Charlestown  part  of  a  Sabbath 
when  the  sacrament  happened  to  be  at  both  yet  did  not 
partake  of  either.  He  denied  that  his  house  at  Casco  was 
haunted  yet  he  owned  there  were  toads.  The  above  was 
in  private  none  of  the  bewitched  being  present. 

Then  followed  the  examination  in  open  court  : 

At  his  entry  into  the  court  room  many  (if  not  all  of  the 
bewitched)  were  grievously  tortured.  Susan  Sheldon  testi- 
fied  that  Burroughs’  two  wives  appeared  in. their jBcijidiag 
sheets  and  said  that  man  killed  them.  He  was  bid  to  look 


REV.  GEORGE  BURROUGHS. 


139 


upon  Susan  Sheldon.  He  looked  hack  and  knocked  down 
all^lhfmoot  of  ^be-«fflicted  who^fodd  h'ehind  hli^ 

*T5rercy  Lewis’  deposition  going  to  be  read  and  he  looked 
at  her  and  she  fell  into  a  dreadful  and  tediouij^t. 

^  Mary  Walcott,  Testimony  going  to) 

v.  Elizabeth  Hubbard,  he  read  and  they  {  y^jl 
/  Susan  Sheldon,  all  fell  into  fits.  / 

Being  asked  what  he  thought  of  these  things  he  answered 
it  was  an  amazing  and  humiliating  providence  hut  he  un¬ 
derstood  nothing  of  it,  and  he  said  (some  of  you  may  ob¬ 
serve  that)  when  they  begin  to  name  any  name  they  cannot 
name  it  ...  .  The  bewitched  were  so  tortured  that 
authority  ordered  them  to  he  taken  away  some  of  them. 

Capt.  Putnam  testified  about  the  gun.  Capt.  Worm¬ 
wood  testified  about  the  gun  and  the  molasses. 

He  (Burroughs)  denied  that  about  the  molasses.  About 
the  gun  he  said  he  took  it  before  the  lock  and  rested  it 
upon  his  breast. 

John  Brown  testified  about  a  barrel  of  cider. 

He  denied  that  his  family  was  affrighted  by  a  white  calf 
in  his  house. 


I  have  quoted  thus  much  of  the  examination, 
not  because  the  testimony  is  important,  but  that 
the  reader  may  understand  the  nature  of  the 
evidence  introduced  in  these  witchcraft  trials. 
Burroughs  was  committed  to  prison  by  the  mag¬ 
istrates,  and  remained  there  until  August,  when 
he  was  indicted  and  tried.  Four  indictments 
were  found  against  him.  One  charged  him 
with  afflicting  Mary  Walcott,  a  second  with 
afflicting  Elizabeth  Hubbard,  the  third  with 
afflicting  Mercy  Lewis,  and  the  fourth,  Ann 
Putnam.  Heal,  who  wrote  about  1747,  says 


140  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


I, 


Burroughs  was  brought  upon  his  trial  on  Au¬ 
gust  5.  ^ 

Among  the  more  interesting  depositions  made 
f  during  the  trial  of  Burroughs  were  those  of 
/  Ann  Putnam  and  Mercy  Lewis,  two  of  the 
afflicted.  Ann  testified  that  Burroughs  appeared 
to  her  one  night  and  told  her  he  had  had  three 
wives  and  had  bewitched  the  two  first  of  them 
to  death.  Subsequently,  she  testified  that  Bur¬ 
roughs’  two  first  wives  appeared  to  her  when 
Mr.  Burroughs  was  present ;  that  they  turned 
their  faces  towards  Burroughs  and  ^‘looked 
very  red  and  angry,”  and  told  him  that  he  had 
been  a  very  cruel  man  to  them ;  that  they 
should  “  be  clothed  with  white  robes  in  heaven 

rwhen  he  should  be  cast  into  hell.”  As  soon  as 
Burroughs  disappeared  the  two  turned  their 
'  faces  toward  Ann,  “  and  looked  as  pail  as  a 
white  wall,”  and  told  her  they  were  Ms  lwo 
rst  wives  and  that  he  had  murdered  them. 
One^'told  me,”  she  continues,  “  she  was""his 
first  wife  and  he  stabbed  her  under  the  left  arm 
and  put  a  piece  of  sealing  wax  on  the  wound, 
and  she  pulled  aside  the  winding  sheet  and 
showed  me  the  place.”  The  second  wife  told 
Ann,  ‘^that  wife  which  he  hath  now,  killed  her 
\in  the  vessel  as  she  was  coming  to  see  his 
fnSds.” 


12  New  England,  II.,  131. 


REV.  GEORGE  BURROUGHS. 


141 


In  reading  this  remarkable  piece  of  evidence , 
which  is  given  here  substantially  in  the  language 
of  the  original,  it  is  important  not  to  lose  sight 
of  the  fact  that  Ann  Putnam,  the  reputed  au¬ 
thor  of  it,  was  only  twelve  years  of  age.  Are 
we  not  forced  to  one  of  two  conclusions  :  either 
that  the  girPs  story  is  literally  true,  or  that  it 
was  manufactured  for  her  by  her  father  or  some 
other  of  the  older  people  interested  in  the  pros¬ 
ecution  ?  Would  a  girl  of  that  age  be  capable 
of  manufacturing  ’’  such  a  story  ?  To  whom 
shall  we  attribute  the  authorship  ?  To  Thomas 
Putnam  ?  If  he  manufactured  this,  how  much 
more  of  the  witchcraft  testimony  owes  its  origin 
to  the  same  source  ?  I  am  not  disposed  to  sit 
in  judgment  in  this  matter  ;  but  certainly  even 
the  casual  reader  should  not  be  alio  wed  to  fill 
his  mind  with  these  remarkable  statements 
without  having  his  attention  called  to  important 
controlling  facts. 

The  statement  of  Mercy  Lewis  is  equally  re¬ 
markable.  She  deposed  that  on  the  night  of 
May  9,  Burroughs  carried  her  up  on  to  a  high 
mountain  and  showed  her  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  earth  and  told  me  that  he  would  give  them 
all  to  me  if  I  would  write  in  his  book,  and  if  I 
would  not  he  would  throw  me  down  and  break 
my  neck.^^  She  told  him  she  would  not  write 
in  the  book  if  he  threw  her  down  on  ^‘100 
pitchforks.’’ 


142  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

A  great  portion  of  the  testimony  against 
B urrough s,_as~7C.l^^'^  saicL,cohsisfed~of~'5tate- 
ments  regarding  his  phenomenal  strength. 
S^niuel  Webber,  for  instance,  told  how  Mr. 
Burroughs  put  his  finger  into  the  bung  of  a 
barrel  of  molasses  lifted  it  up  and  carried  it 
around  him  and  set  it  down.  This  is  the  only 
direct  testimony  of  great  feats  of  strength 
which  does  not  discredit  itself.  No  doubt  this  is 
an  exaggeration  of  the  facts  or  a  misapprehen¬ 
sion  of  the  circumstances.  Thomas  Greenslit’s 
testimony  which  is  given  below  is  the  only 
other  direct  evidence  of  phenomenal  strength. 
Everything  else  is  hearsay  evidence.  As  for 
Greenslit,  he  appears  to  have  been  a  man  utterly 
devoid  of  “cKaracter,  and  not  t^be  believed. 
His  deposition  bears  date  September  15,  which 
would  be  nearly  a  month  after  the  execution  of 
Burroughs.  May  it  not  have  been  procured 
after  the  execution,  to  offset  the  indignation  of 
some  of  Burroughs’  friends  ? 

We  may  as  well  dispose  of  Greenslit  at  this 
point,  by  giving  the  substance  of  his  deposition, 
although  not  in  chronological  order.  He  de¬ 
posed  that  he  saw  Mr.  Burroughs,  who  was 
lately  executed, 

“  lift  a  gun  of  six  foot  barrel  or  thereabouts  putting  the 
forefinger  of  his  right  hand  into  the  muzzell  of  said  gun 
and  that  he  held  it  out  at  arms  end  only  with  tliat  finger, 
and  further  this  deponent  testifieth  that  at  the  same  time 
he  saw  the  said  Burroughs  take  a  full  barrel  of  molasses 


REV.  GEORGE  BURROUGHS. 


143 


with  but  two  of  fingers  of  one  of  his  hands  and  carry  it 
from  the  stage  head  to  the  end  of  the  stage.” 

Simon  Willard  testified  to  being  in  Falmouth, 
Me.,  in  September,  1689,  when  some  one  was 

“  commending  Mr.  Burroughs,  his  strength,  saying  that 
he  could  hold  out  his  gun  with  one  hand.  Mr.  Burroughs 
being  there  said,  I  held  my  hand  here  behind  the  lock  and 
took  it  up  and  held  it  out.  I,  said  deponent,  saw  Mr. 
Burroughs  put  his  hand  on  the  gun,  to  show  us  how  he 
held  it  and  where  he  held  his  hand,  and  saying  there  he 
held  his  hand  when  he  held  his  gun  out ;  hut  I  saw  him 
not  hold  it  out  then.  Said  gun  was  about  seven  foot  barrel 
and  very  heavy.  I  then  tried  to  hold  out  said  gun  with 
both  hands  but  could  not  do  it  long  enough  to  take  sight.” 

Willard  also  deposed  that  when  he  was  in 
garrison  at  Saco  some  one  in  speaking  of  Bur¬ 
roughs’  great  strength  said  he  could  take  a 
barrel  out  of  a  canoe  and  carry  it  and  set  it  on 
the  shore,  and  Burroughs  said  he  had  carried 
a  barrel  of  molasses  or  cider  and  that  it  had 
like  to  have  done  him  a  disjoleasure,  so  he  inti¬ 
mated  that  he  did  not  want  strength  to  do  it 
but  the  disadvantage  of  the  shore  was  such  that 
his  foot  slipping  in  the  sand  he  had  liked  to 
have  strained  his  leg.”  Benjamin  Hutchinson 
testified  that  he  met  Abigail  Williams  one  day 
about  11  o’clock  in  the  forenoon,  in  Salem  Vil¬ 
lage.  Burroughs  was  then  in  Maine,  a  hundred 
miles  away.  She  told  him  she  then  saw  Bur¬ 
roughs.  Hutchinson  asked  where.  She  an¬ 
swered,  ‘‘  there,”  and  pointed  to  a  rut  in  the 
road.  Hutchinson  threw  an  iron  fork  towards 


'144  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


the  place  where  she  said  she  saw  Burroughs. 
Williams  fell  into  a  fit. 

Coming  out  she  said,  “You  have  tom  his  coat  for  I  heard 
it  tear.”  “Whereabouts?  said  I.”  “On  one  side  said 
she.”  Then  we  went  to  the  house  of  Lieut.  Ingersoll,  and 
I  went  into  a  great  room  and  Abigail  came  in  and  said, 
“there  he  stands.”  I  said,  “where?  where?”  and  pres¬ 
ently  drew  my  rapier.  Then  Abigail  said  “  he  is  gone  but 
there  is  a  gray  cat.”  Then  I  said  “whereabouts?” 
“There,”  said  she,  “there.”  Then  I  struck  with  my 
rapier  and  she  fell  into  a  fit;  and  when  it  was  over  she 
said,  “  you  killed  her.” 


Hutchinson  said  he  could  not  see  the  cat, 
^whereupon  Williams  informed  his  credulous 
soul  that  the  spectre  of  Sarah  Good  had  come 
^  in  and  carried  away  the  dead  animal. 

/  These  affairs,  be  it  remembered,  occurred  in 
^  /  broad  day-light.  Deliverance  Hobbs,  called  as 
O  L  .  ^  witness  in  the  case,  protested  her  innocence. 
O  ^  ^  Subsequently  she  was  examined  in  prison  and 


/ 


confessed  that  she  was  a  witch.  She  had  at¬ 
tended  a  meeting  of  witches  where  Burroughs 
was  preacher,  and  ‘^pressed  them  to  bewitch  all 
in  the  village.  He  administered  the  sacrament 
to  them  with  red  bread  and  red  wine  like  blood. 

.  .  .  Her  daughter,  Abagail  Hobbs,  being 

brought  in  at  the  same  time,  while  her  mother 
was  present,  was  immediately  taken  with  a 
dreadful  ’ fit ;  and  her  mother  being  asked  who 
it  was  that  hurt  her  daughter,  answered  it  was 
Goodman  Corey,  and  she  saw  him  and  the 


'k 


t'  1.1-'* 


•  ■  ' 

\  , 

•  •  ,  -'*■  V 


REV.  GEORGE  BURROUGHS. 


145 


gentle  woman  of  Boston  striving  to  break  her 
daughter’s  neck.” 

I  quote  at  this  point  a  deposition  exactly  as  I 
find  it  on  the  files,  without  the  change  of  a 
letter  or  a  punctuation  mark.  Besides  being  a 
good  illustration  of  the  evidence  relied  upon  to 
convict  persons  of  witchcraft,  it  gives  an  in¬ 
sight  into  the  intellectual  condition  of  a  portion 
of  the  people  of  the  day  : 

The  complaint  of  Samuel  Sheldon  against  Mr.  Burroughs 
which  brought  a  book  to  mee  and  told  mee  if  i  would  not 
set  my  hand  too  it  hee  would  tear  me  to  peesses  i  told  him  i 
would  not  then  he  told  mee  hee  would  Starve  me  to  death 
then  the  next  morning  hee  tould  me  hee  could  not  starve  mee 
to  death  but  hee  would  choake  mee  so  that  my  vittals  should 
doe  me  hut  litl  good  then  he  tould  mee  his  name  was 
borros  which  had  preached  at  the  yilage  the  last  night  hee 
came  to  mee  and  asked  mee  whither  i  would  goe  to  the 
village  to  morrow  to  witness  against  him  i  asked  him  if 
he  was  examined  then  he  told  mee  hee  was  then  i  told  him 
i  would  goe  then  hee  told  mee  hee  would  kil  me  before 
morning  then  hee  apeared  to  mee  at  the  house  of  nathan- 
niel  ingolson  and  told  mee  hee  had  been  the  death  of 
three  children  at  the  eastward  and  had  kiled  two  of  his 
wifes  the  first  he  smothered  and  the  second  he  choaked 
and  killed  two  of  his  own  children. 

Ann  Putnam,  it  will  be  remembered,  told  an 
^entirely  different  story  about  the  way  in  which 
Burroughs  killed  his  two  first  wives,”  and  she 
‘\^claimed  to  have  the  story  directly  from  the  ap- 
\paritions  of  those  wives. 

A  jury  of  seven  appointed  to  search  the  body 
of  Mr.  Burroughs  for  witch  marks  reported  that 


146  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


they  found  nothing  but  what  was  natural.  He 
was  convicted,  however,  and  on  the  19th  of 
August  hanged  on  Gallows  hill,  Salem. 

Calef  says  he  was  “  carried  in  a  cart  with  the  others 
through  the  streets  of  Salem  to  execution.  When  he  was 
upon  the  ladder  he  made  a  speech  for  the  clearing  of  his  in- 
nocency  with  such  solemn  and  serious  expressions  as  were 
to  the  admiration  of  all  present :  his  prayer  which  he  con¬ 
cluded  by  repeating  the  Lord’s  prayer  so  well  worded  and 
uttered  with  such  composedness  and  such  (at  least  seeming) 
fervency  of  spirit,  as  was  very  affecting,  and  drew  tears 
from  many,  so  that  it  seemed  to  some  that  the  spectators 
would  hinder  the  execution.  The  accusers  said  the  black 
man  stood  and  dictated  to  him.u  As  soon  as  he  was 
turned  off^^r.  Cotton  Mather,  being  mounted  upon  a  horse",  \ 
/addressed  himself  to  the  people,  partly  to  declare  that  he  ^ 
(Burroughs)  was  no  ordained  minister,  and  partly  to  possess 
the  people  of  his  guilt  saying  that  the  devil  has  often  been 
transformed  into  an  angel  of  light ;  and  this  somewhat  ap¬ 
peased  the  people  and  the  execution  went  on.  When  he 
1  was  cut  down,  he  was  dragged  by  the  halter  to  a  hole,  or 
\  grave,  between  the  rocks,  about  two  feet  deep,  his  shirt  and 
I  breeches  being  pulled  off,  and  an  old  pair  of  trowsers  of  one 
!  executed  put  on  his  lower  parts.  He  was  so  put  in  together  | 
I  with  Willard  and  Carrier  that  one  of  his  hands  and  his  / 
1  chin,  and  a  foot  of  one  of  them,  were  left  uncovered. ^ 


I 

i 

t 

I 

k 

1 


Judge  Sewall  wrote  under  date  of  August  19  : 

“  This  day  George  Burroughs,  John  Willard,  John  Proc¬ 
ter,  Martha  Carrier  and  George  Jacobs  were  executed  at 

14  A  person  guilty  of  witchcraft  was  supposed  to  he  incapa¬ 
ble  of  repeating  the  Lord’s  prayer  correctly,  although  this  was 
only  incidental  and  corroborative  testimony  and  was  never 
considered  as  in  any  sense  conclusive.  It  is  not  certain  that  the 
repetition  was  always  demanded  by  the  magistrates  or  judges. 
It  does  appear  however  that  the  accused  often  voluntarily  re¬ 
peated  the  prayer  as  Burroughs  did  on  this  occasion. 

15  Fowler’s  Ed.,  254. 


1 

1 
> 


REV.  GEORGE  BURROUGHS.  147 

Salem,  a  very  great  number  of  spectators  being  present, 
Mr.  Cotton  Mather  was  there,  Mr.  Sims,  Hale,  Noyes, 
Cheever  &c.  All  of  them  said  they  were  innocent.  Carrier 
and  all.  Mr.  Mather  says  they  all  died  by  a  Righteous 
Sentence.  Mr.  Burrough  by  his  Speech,  Prayer,  presenta¬ 
tion  of  his  Innocence  did  much  move  unthinking  persons, 
which  occasions  their  speaking  hardly  concerning  his  being 

executed.  ”16 

Thus  ended  the  life  of  the  most  important 
personage  executed  during  this  period  and  one 
of  the  most  noted  of  witchcraft  victims  in  the 
history  of  the  world.  Whuteyer  opinions  we 
may  entertain  with  regard  to  the  general  subject 
of  witchcraff,'  or  of  the'  rnistalies  of  the  courts 
in  ^hese  cases,  only  one  opinion  seems  possible 
concerning  the  treatment  of  the  accused  before 
and*after  trial.  They  were  treated  with  the 
grossest  brutality,  from  the  T)eginnm^'*tb  the 
end;  from  the  most  aged  and  infirm  to  the 
youngest  and  most  innocent.  * 


16  Se  wall  Papers,  369. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


BRIDGJEiT  BISHOP  AND  THB  JACOBS  PAMIIY. 


JEIDGET  Bishop  was  arrested  April  19, 
1692,  on  a  warrant  issued  the  day  before. 
Her  examination  took  place  on  the  day 
of  arrest,  and  she  was  committed  to  jail. 
Bridget  was  the  second  wife  of  Edward  Bishop, 
sawyer/’  Bishop  was  her  third  husband.  Her 
first  was  one  Wasslebee,  and  her  second,  Thomas 
Oliver.  Bishop  himself  married  again  nine 
months  after  Bridget  was  hanged.  The  Bishops 
at  the  time  of  Bridget’s  arrest  were  living  near 
the  line  between  Salem  Village  and  Beverly,  on 
the  road  which  now  leads  from  North  Beverly 
to  Danversport,  and  nearly  opposite  the  Cherry 
hill  farm.  Goodwife  Bishop  kept  some  sort  of 
a  public  house  for  the  entertainment  of  travel¬ 
ers.  From  the  documents  on  file  it  appears  that 
she  sold  cider,  if  nothing  stronger,  and  that  her 
guests  sat  up  late  at  night  playing  at  shovel- 
board,  drinking  and  making  so  much  noise  that 
the  neighbors  complained  of  the  place.  Bishop 
and  his  first  wife  Hannah,  were  before  the  court 


j 


LYCEUM  HALL,  SITE  OF  BRIDGET  BISHOP’S  SALEM  HOME 


BRIDGET  BISHOP  AND  THE  JACOBS  FAMILY.  149 

in  1653  and  fined,  he  for  pilfering  of  apples  ’’ 
and  lying,  and  she  for  stealing  Indian  corn  and 
lying. 1  Bishop  was  also  fined  for  contempt,  of 
court  in  not  obeying  a  summons  in  January, 
1692.  Bridget  Bishop  was  arrested  on  a  charge 
of  witchcraft  in  1680,  tried  and  discharged.  It 
is  evident,  therefore,  that  neither  of  them  stood 
before  the  community  in  the  best  possible  light. 
Any  new  charge  to  the  discredit  of  either  was 
quite  likely  to  be  believed. 

Samuel  Gray,  who  preferred  the  charge  of 
witchcraft  against  this  woman  in  1680,  testified 
long  after,  on  his  death  bed,  his  sorrow  and  re¬ 
pentance  for  such  accusations  as  being  wholly 
groundless.^  The  court  reporter  on  the  occasion 
of  Bridget  Bishop’s  examination  before  the 
magistrates  in  1692  left  this  record  : 

As  soon  as  she  came  near  all  fell  into  fits. 

Mary  Walcott  said  that  her  brother  Jonathan  stroke  her 
appearance  and  she  saw  that  he  had  tore  her  coat  in  strik¬ 
ing  and  she  heard  it  tear.  Upon  some  search  in  the  court  a 
rent  that  seems  to  answer  what  was  alleged  was  found. 

They  say  you  bewitched  your  first  husband  to  death. — If 
it  please  your  worship,  I  know  nothing  of  it. 

She  shake  her  head  and  the  afilicted  were  tortured. 

The  like  again  upon  motion  of  her  head. 

The  court  sought  to  make  her  confess  by  lead¬ 
ing  questions  repeated  in  various  forms,  but 
was  unable  to  shake  her  firm  denial  of  every 
charge. 

1  Essex  County  Court  at  Ipswich,  1653,  Nos.  42-43. 

2  Calef,  Fowler’s  ed.,  247. 


150  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

The  report  continues  : 

Then  she  turned  up  her  eyes  and  the  eyes  of  the  afflicted 
were  turned  up . 

It  inay  be  you  do  not  know  that  any  have  confessed  to¬ 
day  who  have  been  examined  before  you  that  they  are 
witches. — No,  I  know  nothing  of  it.  John  Hutchinson 
and  John  Lewis  in  open  court  affirmed  that  they  had  told 
her. 

Why,  look  you,  you  are  taken  now  in  a  flat  lie. — I  did  not 
hear  them. 

The  remainder  of  the  report  is  so  nearly  like 
that  in  other  cases  that  its  use  here  would  be 
mere  repetition.  The  prisoner  was  sent  to  jail. 
The  new  court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  which  had 
been  constituted  by  Gov.  Phips  on  May  27, .  sat 
in  Salem,  June  2,  for  the  trial  of  Bridget 
Bishop,  Rebecca  ^7urse  and  others.  She  was, 
therefore,  one  of  the  first  persons  tried  by  the 
new  court,  and  one  of  the  first  of  the  alleged 
witches  of  Salem  and  Salem  Village  to  be  tried 
in  1692.  The  evidence  against  her  at  this  trial 
has  come  down  to  us  with  a  considerable  degree 
of  fulness.  There  were  five  indictments.  They 
charged  the  prisoner  in  the  usual  form  with 
witchcraft  in,  upon  and  against  Mercy  Lewis, 
Abigail  Williams,  Mary  Walcott,  Elizabeth 
Hubbard  and  Ann  Putnam,  respectively.  In 
addition  to  the  customary  testimony  of  the  af¬ 
flicted  that  the  shape  of  the  accused  did  often 
pinch,  bite,  choke  and  otherwise  hurt  them,  and 
had  urged  them  to  write  their  names  in  a  book, 
which  the  apparition  called  ‘^ourbook,’^  they 


BRIDGET  BISHOP  AND  THE  JACOBS  FAMILY.  151 

manifested  the  usual  evidences  of  torture  in  the 
court  room.  Among  the  interesting  testimony 
in  the  case  was  that  of  William  Stacey,  who  de¬ 
posed  that  he  had  the  small  pox  some  thirteen 
years  before,  and  Bridget  Bishop  professed  great 
love  for  him  in  his  affliction.  Some  time  after 
he  did  some  work  for  her,  for  which  she  paid 
him  three  pence.  He  put  the  money  in  his 
pocket ;  but  had  not  gone  above  three  or  four 
rods  when  he  looked  in  his  pocket  but  could  not 
find  any  money.  One  day  he  met  Bishop  going 
to  mill ;  she  asked  him  whether  his  father  would 
grind  her  grist.  He  wished  to  know  why  she 
asked.  She  answered,  because  folks  counted  her 
a  witch. 

“  Deponent  made  answer  he  did  not  doubt  his  father 
would  grind  it,  but  being  gone  about  six  rods  from  her  with 
a  small  load  in  his  cart,  suddenly  the  off  wheel  plumped  or 
sunk  down  into  a  hole  upon  plain  ground,  that  this  depo¬ 
nent  was  forced  to  get  one  to  help  him  get  the  wheel 
out.  Afterwards  he  went  back  to  look  for  said  hole  where 
his  wheel  sunk  in,  but  could  not  find  any  hole.” 

One  winter  about  midnight  he  felt  something 
cold  pressing  on  his  teeth  between  his  lips.  He 
saw  Bishop  sitting  on  the  foot  of  the  bed.’^ 
She  “  hopt  upon  the  bed  and  about  the  room.’’ 
Some  time  after,  Stacey, 

“In  a  dark  night,  was  going  to  the  barn,  who  was  sud¬ 
denly  taken  or  hoisted  from  the  ground,  threw  against  a 
stone  wall,  after  that  taken  up  again  and  throwed  down  a 
bank  at  the  end  of  the  house.  Some  time  after  this  depo¬ 
nent  met  the  said  Bridget  Bishop  by  Isaac  Stone’s  brick 


152  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

kill ;  after  he  had  passed  by  this  deponent’s  horse  stood  still 
with  a  small  load  going  up  hill,  so  that  the  horse  trying  to 
draw,  all  his  gears  flew  in  pieces  and  the  cart  fell  down.” 

Rev.  John  Hale  of  Beverly,  testified  that  the 
wife  of  John  Trask  desired  of  him  that  Bishop 
be  not  permitted  to  receive  the  Lord’s  Supper 
till  she  had  given  satisfaction  for  some  offences 


TKASK  HOUSE,  NORTH  BEVERLY. 


that  were  against  her  because  she  did  entertain 
certain  people  in  her  house  at  unseasonable 
hours  in  the  night  to  keep  drinking  and  playing 
at  shovel-board  whereby  discord  did  arise  in  the 
other  families  and  young  people  were  in  danger 
to  be  corrupted.’^  He  greatly  feared  that  if  a 
stop  had  not  been  put  to  those  disorders  Edward 


BRIDGET  BISHOP  AND  THE  JACOBS  FAMILY.  153 

Bishop’s  house  would  have  been  a  house  of  great 
prophainness  and  iniquity.”  The  next  news  he 
heard  of  Christian  Trask  was  that  she  was  dis¬ 
tracted,”  and  her  husband  said  she  was  so  taken 
the  night  after  she  complained  of  Goody  Bishop. 
He  continued  his  testimony  at  length,  stating 
that  the  distractions  returned  from  time  to 
time  until  Mrs.  Trask  died.  As  to  the  wounds 
that  she  died  of  I  did  observe  three  deadly 
ones,  a  piece  of  her  windpipe  cut  out,  another 
wound  above  it  through  the  wind  pipe  and  gul¬ 
lets  the  veins  they  call  juglar,  so  that  I  then 
judged  and  still  do  apprehend  it  impossible  for 
her  with  so  short  a  pair  of  scissors  to  mangle 
herself  so  without  some  extraordinary  work  of 
the  devil  or  witchcraft.”  Is  there  any  reason  to 
doubt,  after  reading  this  testimony,  that  Chris¬ 
tian  Trask  was  insane,  and  so  committed  sui¬ 
cide? 

Two  witnesses  testified  that  on  taking  down 
the  cellar  wall  in  the  old  Bishop  house  where 
Bridget  lived  in  1685,  they  found  in  holes  in  the 
wall  several  poppits  made  up  of  rags  and  hog’s 
brussels  with  headless  pins  in  them  with  the 
points  out.  Poppits  were  believed  to  represent 
the  person  whom  the  witch  desired  to  afflict,  and 
by  sticking  pins  into  those  images  the  mischief 
was  supposed  to  be  mysteriously  and  safely  ac¬ 
complished.  Whatever  was  done  to  the  images 


154  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

was,  so  the  belief  ran,  done  to  the  person  whom 
they  represented.8 

Samuel  Shattuck  testified  that  Bridget  Bishop 
came  to  his  house  to  buy  a  hogshead  which  he 
asked  very  little  for,  and  she  went  away  without 
it.  Sundry  other  times  she  came  in  a  smooth 
flattering  manner  he  had  thought  since  to  make 
mischief.  At  or  very  near  this  time  his  eldest 
child  which  had  promised  much  health  and  un¬ 
derstanding  was  ‘Haken  in  a  drooping  condition 
and  as  she  came  often  to  the  house  it  grew  worse 
and  worse.  As  he  would  be  standing  at  the 
.door  would  fall  out  and  bruise  his  face  upon  a 
great  step-stone  as  if  he  had  been  thrust  out  by 
an  invisible  hand.^^  Sometimes  the  child  would 
go  out  in  the  garden  and  get  on  a  board  and 
when  they  would  call  it  it  would  walk  to  the 
end  of  the  board  and  hold  out  its  hands  as  if  it 
could  come  no  further  and  they  had  to  lift  it  off. 
Again,  Bishop  brought  him  a  pair  of  sleeves  to 
dye.  He  dyed  them  and  she  paid  him  two 
pence.  He  gave  the  money  to  Henry  Williams, 
and  Williams  told  him  he  put  it  in  a  purse 
among  some  other  money  and  put  the  purse  in  a 
box  andjlocked  the  box.  He  never  after  found  the 
money  or  purse  in  the  box.  “  It  had  gone  out.’^ 
J ohn  Lander  testified  that  Bishop  came  into  his 
room  one  night  and  sat  on  his  stomach.  He  put 

3 Essex  Inst.  Hist.  Coll.,  II.,  143. 


BRIDGET  BISHOP  AND  THE  JACOBS  FAMILY.  155 


out  his  hands  and  she  grabbed  him  by  the  throat 
and  choked  him.  One  Sunday  while  he  remained 
at  home  : 

“  The  door  being  shut  I  did  see  a  black  pig  in  the  room 
coming  towards  me,  so  I  went  towards  it  to  kick  it  and  it 
vanished  away.  Immediately  after  I  sat  down  in  a  narrow 
bar  and  did  see  a  black  thing  jump  into  the  window  and 
came  and  stood  just  before  my  face  upon  the  bar,  and  the 
body  of  it  looked  like  a  munkey  and  I  being  greatly  af¬ 
frighted,  not  being  able  to  speak  or  help  myself  by  reason 
of  fear  I  suppose,  so  the  thing  spake  to  me  and  said,  I  am  a 
messenger  sent  to  you  for  I  understand  you  are  troubled  in 
mind,  and  if  you  will  be  ruled  by  me  you  shall  want  for 
nothing  in  this  world,  upon  which  I  endeavored  to  clap  my 
hands  upon  it,  and  said  you  devil  I  will  kill  you,  but  could 
feel  no  substance  and  it  jumped  out  of  the  window  again, 
and  immediately  came  in  by  the  porch  although  the  doors 
were  shut,  and  said  you  had  better  take  my  council,  where¬ 
upon  I  strooke  at  it  with  a  stick  but  struck  the  ground-sill. 
Then  his  arm  was  disennabled,  and  opening  the  door  and 
going  out  he  saw  Bishop  in  her  orchard  going  towards  her 
house,  and  seeing  her  had  no  power  to  set  one  foot  before 
the  other.” 

Another  piece  of  testimony  against  Bridget 
Bishop  was  that  of  John  Bly  and  wife.  They 
had  a  dispute  with  the  Bishops  about  a  hog. 
They  testified  that  the  hog  was  taken  with 

strange  fits,  jumping  up  and  knocking  her 
head  against  the  fence,  and  seemed  blind  and 
deaf,  and  would  not  eat,  neither  let  her  pigs 
suck  but  foamed  at  the  mouth 'I'hey  gave  it 
red  ochre  and  milk  which  made  it  better  but 
soon  it  did  set  off  jumping  and  running  as  if 
she  was  stark  mad,  and,  after  that  was  well 


156  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


again,  and  we  did  then  apprehend  or  judge  and 
do  still,  that  said  Bishop  had  bewitched  said 
sow.^^  John  Cook  told  the  court  that  five  or 
six  years  previously  he  was  assaulted  with  the 
shape  of  the  prisoner  in  his  chamber,  and  so 
terrified  that  an  apple  that  he  had  in  his  hand 
flew  strangely  from  him  into  his  mother’s  lap 
six  or  eight  feet  distant. 

The  trial  occupied  most  of  the  week.  Bridget 
was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  She 
was  executed  on  Friday,  June  10,  being  the  only 
person  hanged  on  that  day,  and  hence  the  first 
victim  of  the  great  witchcraft  delusion  of  1692. 
Calef  says,  “  she  made  not  the  least  confession 
of  anything  relating  to  witchcraft.”^  Of  her 
execution  we  have  no  details,  but  the  court 
records  contain  the  original  warrant  for  her  exe¬ 
cution  and  the  sheriff’s  return  thereon.  As  this 
is  the  only  death  warrant  which  has  been  pre¬ 
served  in  these  cases  it  is  quoted  here  in  full : 

To  George  Corwin  gent™  High  SheriflP  of  the  county  of 
Essex  greeting ; 

Whereas  Bridget  Bishop,  als  Oliver,  the  wife  of  Edward 
Bishop  of  Salem  in  the  county  of  Essex,  sawyer,  at  a  spec- 
iall  court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  held  at  Salem  the  second 
day  of  this  instant  month  of  June  for  the  countyes  of  Es¬ 
sex,  Middlesex  and  Suffolk  before  William  Stoughton  Esq. 
and  his  associate  justices  of  the  said  court  was  indicted 
and  arraigned  upon  five  several  indictments  for  using, 
practicing  and  exercising  on  the  n3rnteenth  day  of  April 
last  past  and  divers  other  days  and  times  before  and  after 

4  Fowler’s  Ed.,  247. 


THE  SHATTUCK  HOUSE,  SALEM. 


4 
.  4 


•  w 


BRIDGET  BISHOP  AXD  THE  JACOBS  FAMILY.  1  57 

certain  acts  of  witchcraft  on  and  upon  the  hodyes  of  Abi¬ 
gail  Williams  Ann  Putnam  junr.  Mercy  Lewis  May  Wal¬ 
cott  and  Elizabeth  Hubbard  of  Salem  Village  single  women 
whereby  their  bodyes  were  hurt  afflicted  pined  consumed 
wasted  and  tormented  contrary  to  the  forme  of  the  statute 
in  that  case  made  and  provided.  To  which  indictment  the 
said  Bridget  Bishop  pleaded  not  guilty  and  for  tiyal  thereof 
put  herself  upon  God  and  her  country  whereupon  she 
was  found  guilty  of  the  felonyes  and  witchcraft  whereof  she 


BRIDGET  BISHOP  HOUSE,  XORTH  BEVERLY. 


Stood  indicted  and  sentence  of  death  accordingly  passed  agt 
her  as  the  law  directs.  Execution  whereof  yet  remains  to 
be  done.  These  are  therefore  in  the  name  of  their  maj(es)- 
ties  William  and  Mary  now  King  and  Queen  over  England 
&c  to  will  and  command  you  that  upon  Fry  day  next  being 
the  tenth  dy  of  this  instant  month  of  Juno  between  the 
hours  of  eight  and  twelve  in  the  aforenoon  of  the  same  day 
you  safely  conduct  the  sd  Bridget  Bishop  als  Oliver  from 
their  majties  goal  in  Salem  aforesd  to  the  place  of  execu- 


158  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

tiou  and  there  cause  her  to  be  hanged  by  the  neck  until  she 
be  dead,  and  of  your  doings  herein  make  return  to  the 
clerke  of  the  sd  court  and  pr  cept.  and  hereof  you  are  not 
to  faile  at  your  peril  and  this  shall  he  your  sufficient  war¬ 
rant  given  under  my  hand  and  seal  at  Boston  the  eighth 
dy  of  June  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovirgne 
Lord  &  Lady  William  &  Mary  now  King  and  Queen  over 
England  &c  annogr  dom  1692 

William  Stoughton 

According  to  the  within  written  precept  I  have  taken  the 
body  of  the  within  name**  Brigett  Bishop  out  of  their  majes¬ 
ties  goal  in  Salem  and  safely  conveighed  her  to  the  place 
provided  for  her  execution  and  caused  ye  sd  Brigett  to  he 
hanged  by  the  neck  untill  she  was  dead  [and  buried  in  the 
place]  all  which  was  according  to  the  time  within  required 
and  so  I  make  returne  by  me. 

George  Corwin  Sheriff. 

The  words  in  brackets  in  the  sheriff’s  return 
were  written  in  the  original  and  then  partially 
erased.  They  are  important,  however,  as  indi¬ 
cating  the  disposition  of  Bishop’s  body.  No 
doubt  other  bodies  were  disposed  of  in  the  same 
manner.  Corwin  probably  erased  the  words 
after  writing  them  because  the  matter  of  burial 
was  not  mentioned  in  the  warrant. 

The  history  of  the  Jacobs  family  in  connection 
with  the  witchcraft  prosecutions  is  peculiarly 
interesting.  George  Jacobs,  Sen.,  George 
Jacobs,  Jun.,  and  his  wife  Kebecca  and  daughter 
Margaret,  were  all  accused.  The  old  man  must 
have  been  seventy  years  of  age  or  more,  for  he 
had  long,  flowing  white  hair.  He  lived  on  a 
farm  in  what  was  then  known  as  Northfields, 


BRIDGET  BISHOP  AND  THE  JACOBS  FAMILY.  159 

and  in  Salem  rather  than  Salem  Village,  but  on 
territory  now  included  in  the  town  of  Dan¬ 
vers.  The  exact  site  was  near  the  mouth  of 
Endicott  or  Cow  House  river,  the  first  of  the 
three  rivers  one  crosses  in  driving  from  Salem  to 
Danvers.  Jacobs  was  evidently  a  man  of  some 
property,  and  probably  a  good  average  citizen; 
but,  like  most  of  the  others  who  fell  under  sus¬ 
picion  of  witchcraft,  and  for  that  matter,  many 
of  their  neighbors,  he  had  had  a  little  trouble 
which  had  brought  him  into  court.  The  records 
show  that  in  1677  he  was  fined  for  striking  a 
man.  His  son,  George,  jnn.,  three  years  earlier, 
was  sued  by  Hathaniel  Putnam  to  recover  the 
value  of  some  horses  that  he  had  chased  into  the 
river  where  they  were  drowned.  The  court 
found  against  Jacobs.^  On  the  10th  day  of  May, 
1692,  Hathorne  and  Corwin  issued  a  warrant  ‘To 
the  constable  of  Salem  ”  directing  him  to  ap¬ 
prehend  George  Jacobs,  sen.,  of  Salem,  and 
Margaret  Jacobs,  daughter  of  Geprge  Jacobs, 
jun.,  of  Salem,  single  woman.  On  the  same 
day,  Joseph  Neal,  “constable  for  Salem,”  re¬ 
turned  that  he  had  apprehended  the  bodies  of 
George  Jacobs,  sen.,  and  Margaret  Jacobs.  They 

6 George  Jacobs,  jun.,  being  complained  of  for  driving  of 
horses  into  the  river  and  threatening  to  drown  them  and  some 
horses  lost  and  one  found  dead  in  the  river  shortly  afterwards 
the  court  ....  found  the  said  Jacobs  blamable  and  that 
they  do  adjudge  him  to  pay  the  charge  arising  upon  the  hearing 
of  the  case,  the  costs  is  20s.  County  Court,  Salem,  I,  No.  11. 


V 


1  60  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

were  taken  to  Salem  that  clay,  and  the  examina¬ 
tion  of  the  old  man  was  begun  at  once.  After 
some  preliminary  questions  and  the  usual  “  suf¬ 
ferings  of  the  afflicted,  the  report  continues, 
Jacobs  saying: 


BEADLE  TAVERN,  SALEM. 

I  am  as  innocent  as  the  child  born  to-night.  I  have  lived 
33  years  here  in  Salem. 

What  then  ? — If  you  can  prove  that  I  am  guilty  I  will  lye 
under  it.  " 

Sarah  Churchill  said,  last  night  I  was  afflicted  at  Deacon 
Ingersoll’s,  and  Mary  Walcott  said,  it  was  a  man  with  2 
staves.  It  was  my  master. 


BRIDGET  BISHOP  AND  THE  JACOBS  FAMILY.  161 

Pi  ay  do  not  accuse  me.  I  am  as  clear  as  your  worships 
You  must  do  right  judgements. 

What  book  did  he  bring  you,  Sarah  ? — The  same  book 
that  the  other  woman  brought. 

The  devil  can  go  in  any  shape. 

Did  he  not  appear  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  and  hurt 
you?  Did  not  you  see  him ? — Yes,  he  did. 

Look  there,  she  accuseth  you  to  your  face,  she  chargeth 
you  that  you  hurt  her  twice.  Is  it  not  true  ? — What  would 
you  have  me  say  ?  I  never  wronged  no  man  in  word  nor 
deed. 

Here  are  3  evidences.— You  tax  me  for  a  wizzard.  You 
may  as  well  tax  me  for  a  buzzard.  I  have  done  no  harm. 

Is  it  not  harm  to  afflict  these?— I  never  did  it. 

But  how  comes  it  to  be  in  your  appearance  ? — The  devil 
can  take  any  license. 

Not  without  their  consent. — Please  your  worships,  it  is 
nntrue,  I  never  showed  the  book.  I  am  silly  about  these 
things  as  the  child  born  last  night. 

That  is  your  saying.  You  argue  you  have  lived  so  long, 
but  what  then,  Cain  might  (have)  live  so  long  before  he 
killed  Abel  and  you  might  live  long  before  the  devil  had  so 
prevailed  on  you. — Christ  hath  suffered  3  times  for  me. 

What  three  times  ? — He  suffered  the  cross  and  gal  .  . 

You  had  as  good  confess  (said  Sarah  Churchill)  if  you  are 
guilty. 

B  ave  you  heard  that  I  have  any  witchcraft  ? 

I  know  that  you  lead  a  wicked  life. 

Let  her  make  it  out. 

Doth  he  ever  pray  in  his  family  ? 

Not  unless  by  himself. 

Why  do  you  not  pray  in  your  family  ?— I  cannot  read. 

Well  you  may  pray  for  all  that.  Can  you  say  the  Lord’s 
prayer  ?  Let  us  hear  you. 

He  might  [missed]  in  several  parts  of  it  &  could  not  re¬ 
peat  it  right  after  many  trials. 

Sarah  Churchill,  when  you  wrote  in  the  book  you  was 
showed  your  master’s  name  you  said  — Yes  sirr. 

♦  ******##» 


162  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


Well,  burn  me  or  hang  me  I  will  stand  in  the  truth  of 
Christ.  I  know  nothing  of  it. 

This  examination,  begun  on  the  10th,  was  sus¬ 
pended  for  some  reason  before  completion,  and 
finished  on  the  11th.  On  that  day  the  accusing 
girls  were  present  in  full  force.  Among  them 
was  Sarah  Churchill,  who  gave  very  positive 
evidence  against  the  prisoner.  Subsequently, 
Sarah  Ingersoll  deposed. — 

That  seeing  Sarah  Churchill  after  her  examination,  she 
came  to  me  crying,  and  wringing  her  hands,  seemingly 
"  much  troubled  in  spirit.  I  asked  her  what  ailed  her.  She 
answered  she  had  undone  herself.  I  asked  in  what.  She 
said  in  belying  herself  and  others  in  saying  she  had  set  her 
hand  to  the  devil’s  book  whereas  she  said  I  never  did.  I 
told  her  I  believed  she  had  set  her  hand  to  the  book.  She 
answered  and  said,  no,  no,  no.  I  never  did.  I  asked  herthen 
what  made  her  say  she  did.  She  answered  becatise  they, 
threatened  her,  and  told  her  they  would  put  her  into  the 
dungeon  and  put  her  along  with  Mr.  Burroughs,  and  thus 
several  times  she  followed  me  up  and  down  telling  me  she 
had  undone  herself,  in  belying  herself  and  others.  I  asked 
her  why  she  did  not  deny  she  wrote  it.  She  told  me  because 
she  had  stood  out  so  long  in  it,  that  now  she  durst  not.  She 
said,  also,  that  if  she  told  Mr.  Noyes  but  once  she  had  set 
her  hand  to  the  book,  he  would  believe  her,  but  if  she  told 
the  truth,  and  said  she  had  not  set  her  hand  to  the  book  a 
hundred  times  he  would  not  believe  her. 

George  Herrick  testified  that  in  May  he  went 
to  the  jail  and  searched  the  body  of  Jacobs.  He 
found  a  tett  under  the  right  shoulder  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  long.  He  ran  a  pin  through  it  but 
there  was  neither  water,  blood  nor  corruption, 
nor  any  other  matter,  and  so  we  make  return.’^ 


BRIDGET  BISHOP  AND  THE  JACOBS  FAMILY.  163 

The  following  document  is  also  among  the  pa¬ 
pers  : — 

wee  whose  names  are  under  written  having  received  an 
order  from  ye  sreife  to  search  ye  bodyes  of  George  Bur¬ 
roughs  and  George  Jacobs  wee  find  nothing  upon  ye  body 
of  ye  above  sayd  Burroughs  hut  wt  is  naturall  but  upon  ye 
body  of  George  Jacobs  wee  find  3  tetts  wch  according  to  ye 
best  of  our  judgements  wee  think  is  not  naturall  for  wee 
nm  a  pinn  through  2  of  ym  and  he  was  not  sincible  of  it 
one  of  them  being  within  his  mouth  upon  ye  inside  of  his 
right  cheak  and  2d  upon  his  right  shoulder  blade  and  a  3d 
upon  his  right  hipp. 

Ed  Welch  swome  John  Flint  jurat 

Will  Gill  sworne  Tom  West  sworne 

Zeb  Gill  jurat  Sam  Morgan  sworne 

John  Bare  jurat. 

The  jury  found  Jacobs  guilty,  and  he  was  sen¬ 
tenced  to  the  gallows,  and  executed  on  August 
19.®  After  his  condemnation  the  sheriff’s  officers 
went  to  his  house  and  seized  all  his  goods,  and 
even  took  his  wife’s  wedding  ring.  It  was  with 
great  difficulty  that  she  obtained  it  again.  She 
was  under  the  necessity  of  buying  provisions  of 
the  sheriff,  such  as  he  had  taken  from  her. 
These  not  being  sufficient  to  sustain  life,  the 
neighbors  supplied  her  with  more. 

In  the  mean  time  warrants  were  issued  on 
May  14,  for  George  Jacobs,  jun.,  and  his  wife 
Eebecca.  Jacobs  escaped.  When  the  constables 
took  Rebecca  she  had  four  young  children  in  her 
home.  Some  of  them  followed  her  on  the  road, 
but  being  too  young  to  continue  far  they  were 


164  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE, 


left  behind,  and  ^ 
cared  for  by  the 
neighbors.  Ke- 
becca  Jacobs  was 
kept  in  irons  eight 
months,  then  in¬ 
dicted  and  brought 


6  Jacobs  was  buried 
on  his  farm  in  Danvers- 
port,  where  his  grave 
may  be  seen  at  this  day. 
The  remains  were  ex¬ 
humed  about  1864,  ex¬ 
amined  and  redeposited 
in  the  earth  where  they 
had  lain  for  nearly  two 
centuries.  The  skull 
was  found  to  be  fairly 
well  preserved.  The  jaw 
bones  were  those  of  an 
old  man,  the  teeth  being 
all  gone.  A  metalic  pin 
was  the  only  article 
found  save  the  bones* 
Family  tradition  has  it 
that  Jacobs  was  hanged 
on  a  tree  on  his  own 
farm.  Mr.  C.  M.  Endi 
cott  says  his  grand¬ 
mother,  a  direct  descen¬ 
dant,  told  him  that  the 
body  after  execution  in 
Salem  was  brought 
home  for  burial  by  his 
son,  who  witnessed  the 
hanging.  Others  say  it 
was  a  grandson.  Essex 
Inst.  Hist.  Coll.,  I.,  63 
Calef ,  Fowler’s  Ed.,  258 


1 


BRIDGET  BISHOP  AND  THE  JACOBS  FAMILY.  165 

to  trial  on  January  3,  1693.  She  was  promptly 
acquitted.  In  the  mean  time  touching  petitions 
had  been  presented  to  the  chief  justice  by  the 
mother,  and  to  Gov.  Phips,  praying  for  her  re. 
lease.  They  were  of  no  avail.  The  woman  was 
kept  in  a  dungeon,  half  fed,  and  uncared  for  be¬ 
yond  what  was  necessary  to  sustain  life,  through 
the  long  winter  months.  Her  treatment  was  in 
keeping  with  that  of  other  victims.  In  cruelty 
and  barbarity  it  must  be  frankly  said  that  it  finds 
parallel  only  in  the  acts  of  the  savages  of  the 
forests.  Whether  the  officials  were  actuated  by 
honest  motives  in  the  prosecutions,  may  be  a  fair 
question,  but  there  is  no  question  that  the  treat¬ 
ment  of  prisoners  was  malignant  and  full  of  the 
spirit  of  persecution. 

Margaret  Jacobs,  to  save  herself  from  punish¬ 
ment  acknowledged  that  she  was  a  witch  and 
testified  against  her  grandfather,  and  also 
against  Mr,  Burroughs.  On  August  2,  1692,  the 
day  after  Mr.  Burroughs  and  George  Jacobs, 
sen.,  were  executed,  she  addressed  a  letter  to  her 
father  as  follows  : — 

Honored  father,— After  my  humble  duty  remembered  to 
you,  hoping  in  the  Lord  of  your  good  health,  as  blessed  be 
God  I  enjoy,  though  in  abundance  of  affliction,  being  close 
confined  here  in  a  loathsome  dungeon,  the  Lord  look  down 
in  mercy  upon  me,  not  knowing  how  soon  I  shall  be  put  to 
death,  by  means  of  the  afflicted  persons.  My  grandfather 
having  suffered  already  and  all  his  estate  seized  for  the 
king.  The  reason  of  my  confinement  is  this,  I  having, 
through  the  magistrates’  threatenings,  and  my  own  vile 


166  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


and  wretched  heart,  confessed  several  things  contrary  to 
my  own  conscience  and  knowledge,  though  to  the  wound¬ 
ing  of  my  own  soul,  the  Lord  pardon  me  for  it.  But  O,  the 
terrors  of  a  wounded  conscience,  who  can  bear?  But 
blessed  he  the  Lord,  he  would  not  let  me  go  on  in  my  sins, 
hut  in  mercy,  I  hope,  to  my  soul,  would  not  suffer  me  to 
keep  it  in  any  longer,  hut  I  was  forced  to  confess  the  truth 
of  all  before  the  magistrates,  who  would  not  believe  me, 
hut  ’tis  their  pleasure  to  put  me  here,  and  God  knows  how 
soon  I  shall  be  put  to  death.  Dear  father,  let  me  beg  your 
prayers  to  the  Lord  on  my  behalf,  and  send  us  a  joyful  and 
happy  meeting  in  Heaven.  My  mother,  poor  woman,  is 
very  crazy,  and  remembers  her  kind  love  to  you,  and  to 
uncle,  viz,  d — A — ,  so  leaving  you  to  the  protection  of  the 
Lord,  I  rest  your  dutiful  daughter. 

Margaret  Jacobs. 

From  the  dungeon 
in  Salem  prison, 

Aug.  20,  1692. 

At  the  next  session  of  the  court  Margaret 
made  another  confession  in  which  she  said, 

“  The  Lord  above  knows  I  know  nothing  in  the  least 
measure,  how  or  who  afflicted  them,  they  told  me  without 
doubt  I  did,  or  else  they  would  not  fall  down  at  me,  they 
told  me  if  I  would  not  confess  I  should  be  put  down  into 
the  dungeon  and  would  be  hanged,  but  if  I  would  confess  I 
should  have  my  life.  The  which  did  so  affright  me  with 
my  own  vile  wicked  heart,  to  save  my  life  made  me  make 
the  like  confession  I  did,  which  confession,  may  it  please 
the  honored  court  is  altogether  false  and  untrue.  .  .  . 
Whatever  I  said  was  altogether  false  against  my  grand¬ 
father  and  Mr.  Burroughs,  which  I  did  to  save  my  life  and 
to  have  my  liberty,  but  the  Lord,  charging  it  to  my  con¬ 
science  made  me  in  so  much  horror  that  I  could  not  contain 
myself  before  I  had  denied  the  confession,  which  I  did, 
though  I  saw  nothing  but  death  before  me,  choosing  rather 
death  with  a  quiet  conscience  than  to  live  in  such  horror, 
which  I  could  not  suffer.  Whereupon  my  denying  my  con¬ 
fession  I  was  committed  to  close  prison.” 


BRIDGET  BISHOP  AND  THE  JACOBS  FAMILY.  167  • 


She  asked  the  court  to  take  pity  and  compas¬ 
sion  on  her  young  and  tender  years,  she  having 
no  friend  but  the  Lord  to  plead  her  cause.  At 
the  time  set  for  her  trial  she  was  troubled  with 
a  disorder  in  her  head,  and  thus  escaped.  The 
evidence  which  she  gives  as  to  the  pressure 
brought  to  bear  to  make  her  confess  herself  a 
witch  corroborates  what  was  said  by  many  oth¬ 
ers,  and  raises  the  question  in  our  minds  wheth¬ 
er  all  the  so-called  confessions  were  extorted  by 
similar  promises  of  mercy  on  the  one  hand,  and 
threats  of  punishment  on  the  other.  Margaret 
remained  in  prison  some  time  after  the  procla¬ 
mation  of  freedom  was  issued  by  the  governor, 
because  she  could  not  pay  the  fees  and  charges 
of  the  jailer. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THI)  PROCTX^RS,  WIlfl^ARD,  CARRIER  AND  HOW, 


^HE  story  of  the  trial  of  John  Procter  and 
^  3  his  wife  Elizabeth  is  full  of  interest.  The 

Procters  lived  originally  in  Ipswich,  but 


subsequently  in  Salem  Village,  at  the  point  now 
known  as  Procter’s  Crossing  in  Peabody.  The 
house  stood  near  the  southerly  end  of  Pleasant 
hill.  Procter  was  a  respectable  and  well-to-do 
farmer.  He  came  into  conflict  on  one  or  two 
occasions  with  Giles  Corey,  but  this  does  not 
seem  to  have  had  anything  to  do  with  the  sub¬ 
sequent  proceedings  on  the  charge  of  witch¬ 
craft  against  him  or  his  wife,  although  the  same 
efforts  have  been  made  in  this  case  as  in  many 
others  to  attribute  the  prosecution  to  personal 
•animosities.  Procter,  in  1678,  was  a  referee  in 
a  case  between  Corey  and  John  Gloyd.  The  de¬ 
cision  of  Procter,  and  the  other  arbitrators  was 
against  Corey,  but  that  did  not  appear  to  create 
any  ill-feelings  between  the  two,  and  they  are 
said  to  have  drunk  together  after  the 


THE  PROCTERS,  WILLARD,  CARRIER  AND  HOW.  169 

decision  had  been  announced.^  A  short 
time  after  this  Procter's  house  caught  fire 
and  some  one  was  unkind  enough  to  suggest 
that  Corey  set  the  fire,  as  already  mentioned  in 
an  earlier  chapter.  As  there  stated,  he  was  ac¬ 
quitted,  when  brought  to  trial. 


PROCTER  HOUSE,  PEABODY. 


Complaint  was  made  against  Elizabeth  Proc¬ 
ter  on  April  4,  by  Capt.  Jonathan  Walcott  and 
Lieut.  Nathaniel  lugersoll,  for  afflicting  Abigffll 
Williams,  John  Indian,  Mary  Walcott,  Ann 
Putnam  and  Mercy  Lewis.  She  was  arrested  on 
the  11th,  and  taken  to  Salem  for  examination, 
together  with  Sarah  Cloyes,  sister  of  Kebecca 


1  Essex  Court  Records 


^  170  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

Nurse.  Danforth,  deputy  governor,  Samuel 
Appleton,  Samuel  Sewall  and  Isaac  Addington 
sat  with  Hathorne  and  Corwin  on  this  occa¬ 
sion.  Procter  himself,  like  a  good  husband, 
followed  his  wife  to  court,  but  at  the  cost  of  his 
life. "  The  girls  of  the  accusing  circle  cried  out 
against  him  and  he  was  then  and  there  arrested. 
During  the  examination  of  Goodwife  .Procter, 
this  scene  occurred  : 

Elizabeth  Procter,  you  understand  whereof  you  are 
charged,  viz.,  to  be  guilty  of  sundry  acts  of  witchcraft. 
What  say  you  to  it?  Speak  the  truth,  and  so  you  that  are 
afflicted,  you  must  speak  the  truth  as  you  will  answer  for  it 
before  God  another  day.  Mary  W alcott,  doth  this  woman 
hurt  you  ? — I  never  saw  her  so  as  to  be  hurt  by  her. 

Mercy  Lewis,  does  she  hurt  you? — (Her  mouth  was 
stopped.) 

Ann  Putnam,  does  she  hurt  you? — (She  could  not  speak.) 

Abigail  Williams,  does  she  hurt  you  ? — (Her  hand  was 
thrust  in  her  own  mouth.) 

John  Indian,  does  she  hurt  you? — This  is  the  woman  that 
came  in  her  shift  and  choked  me. 

Did  she  ever  bring  the  book?— Yes,  sir. 

What  to  do?— To  write. 

What,  this  woman? — Yes,  sir. 

Are  you  sure  of  it? — Yes,  sir. 

Again  Abigail  Williams  and  Ann  Putnam  were  spoke  to 
by  the  court,  but  neither  of  them  could  make  any  answer, 
by  reason  of  dumbness,  or  other  fits. 

What  do  you  say.  Goody  Procter,  to  these  things?— I  take 
God  in  Heaven  to  be  my  witness,  that  I  know  nothing  of  it, 
no  more  than  the  child  unborn. 

Ann  Putnam,  doth  this  woman  hurt  you  ? — Yes,  sir,  a 
great  many  times.  (Then  the  accused  looked  upon  them 
and  they  fell  into  fits). 


THE  PROCTERS,  WILLARD,  CARRIER  AND  HOW.  171 

Did  not  you,  said  Abigail,  tell  me  that  your  maid  had 
■written?— Dear  child  it  is  not  so.  There  is  another  judge¬ 
ment,  dear  child. 

Then  Abigail  and  Ann  had  fits.  By  and  by  they  cried 
out,  “  Look  you,  there  is  Goody  Procter  on  the  beam.” 
Shortly  both  of  them  cried  out  of  Goodman  Procter  him¬ 
self,  and  said  he  "was  a  'wizzard.  Immediately  many,  if  not 
all,  the  bewitched,  had  grievous  fits. 

Ann  Putnam,  who  hurt  you  ? — Goodman  Procter  and  his 
wife. 

Afterwards,  some  of  the  afflicted  cried,  there  is  Procter 
going  to  take  up  Mrs.  Pope’s  feet,  and  her  feet  were  im¬ 
mediately  taken  up. 

What  do  you  say,  Goodman  Procter,  to  these  things  ? — I 
know  not,  I  am  innocent. 

During  the  examination  of  Elizabeth  Procter,  Abigail 
Williams  and  Ann  Putnam  both  made  offer  to  strike  at 
said  Procter  but  when  Abigail’s  hand  came  near  it  opened 
— (whereas  it  was  made  up  into  a  fist  before)  and  came  down 
exceeding  lightly,  as  it  drew  near  to  said  Procter  and  at 
length,  with  open  and  extended  fingers,  touched  Procter’s 
hood  very  lightly.  Immediately,  Abigail  cried  out,  her 
fingers,  her  fingers,  her  fingers  were  burned. 

The  following  document  which  was  filed  in 
the  case  of  -Procter  and  his  wife  and  Sarah 
Cloyes,  was  the  form  used  in  all  other  cases.  It 
is  quoted  here  more  for  the  light  it  throws  on 
the  methods  of  procedure  in  those  days  than  for 
its  importance  in  this  or  any  other  one  case  : 

Salem,  April  11th,  1692.  Mr.  Samuel  Parris  was  desired 
by  the  Honorable  Mr.  Danforth,  deputy  governor,  and  the 
council,  to  take  in  writing  the  aforesaid  examinations,  and 
accordingly  took  and  delivered  them  in,  and  upon  hearing 
the  same,  and  seeing  what  was  then  seen,  together  with  the 


172 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


charge  of  the  afflicted  persons,  were  by  the  advice  of  the 
council  all  committed  by  us. 

John  Hathome  Ass’t’s. 

Jonathan  Corwin. 

Procter  and  his  wife  were  brought  to  trial 
about  August  5.  I  find  three  indictments 
against  him  on  the  files.  One  charges  that  he 
afflicted  Mary  Walcott  on  April  11 ;  a  second 
that  he  afflicted  Mercy  Lewis  on  the  same  day, 
and  the  third  that  he  afflicted  Mary  Warren  on 
March  26.  Two  indictments  against  Elizabeth 
Procter  are  on  file.  One  charges  that  she  af¬ 
flicted  Mary  Walcott,  the  other  that  she  afflicted 
Mercy  Lewis,  the  date  of  the  offence  alleged  in 
each  case  being  April  11.  The  testimony  offered 
at  these  trials  differed  very  little  from  that  used 
to  convict  in  other  cases,  and  the  witnesses  were 
substantially  the  same.  One  or  two  of  the 
depositions  are  of  rather  more  than  ordinary  in¬ 
terest,  perhaps.  Among  them,  I  find  this  some¬ 
what  remarkable  production  : 

Elizabeth  Booth  testified  that  on  ye  8th  of  June  hugh 
joanes  Apered  unto  me  &  told  me  that  Elesebeth  Prockter 
kiled  him  because  he  had  a  poght  of  sider  of  her  which 
he  had  not  paid  her  for.  On  June  8th  Elesebeth  Shaw 
Apered  unto  me  &  told  me  yt  Elesebeth  Procter  &  John 
'W^illard  kiled  Her  Because  she  did  not  use  those  doctors 
she  Advised  her  to.  .  .  Ye  wife  of  John  Fuller  Apered 
unto  me  and  told  me  that  Elesebeth  Procter  kiled  her  be¬ 
cause  she  would  not  give  her  Aples  when  she  sent  for  sum. 

.  .  .  The  apparition  of  Law  Shapling  and  Doc  Zeru- 
babel  Endicott  appeared  and  said  Elizabeth  Procter  killed 
them,  and  the  apparition  of  Robert  Stone,  sen.,  told  him 
that  John  Procter  and  his  wife  killed  him,  and  at  the  same 


THE  PROCTERS,  WILLARD,  CARRIER  AND  HOW.  173 

time  Robert  Stone,  jr.,  appeared  and  said  Procter  and  his 
wife  killed  him  because  he  took  his  father’s  part. 

John  Bailey  deposed  that, 

“  On  the  25th  of  May  last  myself  and  wife  being  bound  to 
Boston  on  the  road,  when  I  came  in  sight  of  the  house 
where  J ohn  Procter  did  live  there  was  a  very  hard  blow 
struck  on  my  breast,  which  caused  great  pain  in  my 
stomach  and  amazement  in  my  head,  but  did  see  no  person 
near  me  only  my  wife  on  my  horse  behind  me  on  the  same 
horse ;  and  when  I  came  against  said  Procter’s  house,  ac¬ 
cording  to  my  understanding,  I  did  see  J  ohn  Procter  and 
his  wife  at  said  house.  Procter  himself  looked  out  of  the 
window,  and  his  wife  did  stand  just  without  the  door.  I 
told  my  wife  of  it ;  and  she  did  look  that  way  and  see 
nothing  but  a  little  maid  at  the  door.  Afterwards,  about  a 
mile  from  the  aforesaid  house,  I  was  taken  speechless  for 
some  short  time.  My  wife  did  ask  me  several  questions, 
and  desired  me  if  I  could  not  speak  I  should  hold  up  my 
hand ;  which  I  did  and  immediately  I  could  speak  as  well 
as  ever.  And  when  we  came  to  the  way  where  Salem  road 
cometh  into  Ipswich  road,  there  I  received  another  blow  on 
my  breast,  which  caused  me  so  much  pain  I  could  not  sit 
on  my  horse.  And  when  I  did  alight  off  my  horse,  to  my 
understanding,  I  saw  a  woman  coming  towards  us  about  16 
or  20  pole  from  us,  but  did  not  know  who  it  was.  My  wife 
could  not  see  her.  When  I  did  get  up  on  my  horse  again, 
to  my  understanding,  there  stood  a  cow  where  I  saw  the 
woman.” 

As  matter  of  fact,  Procter  and  his  wife  were 
at  this  time,  in  jail  in  Boston,  and  had  been 
there  since  April  11.  Bailey  was  undoubtedly 
frightened  at  the  stories  he  had  heard  the  pre¬ 
vious  evening  in  Salem  Village,  where  he  must 
have  passed  the  night  on  his  way  from  his  home 
in  Newbury  to  Boston.  His  wife,  who  perhaps  had 


174  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

not  heard  the  stories  about  Procter  and  other 
“  witches/^  was  not  agitated  and  could  plainly 
see  that  there  was  only  a  maid  standing  at  the 
door.  As  for  Bailey ^s  other  troubles  that  morn¬ 
ing,  we  may  believe  as  much  or  as  little  as  .we 
please  of  the  story  he  told.  We  know  now  that 
there  was  not  a  particle  of  reality  in  it.  It  may 
have  been  deliberate  falsehood,  or  it  may  have 
been  the  effect  of  a  too  fervid  imagination.  Of 
Procter's  family,  Benjamin,  the  oldest,  was  in 
prison  with  his  parents  ;  and  his  sister  Sarah, 
aged  sixteen,  William,  aged  eighteen,  Samuel, 
aged  seven,  Abigail  between  three  and  four,  and 
one  still  younger,  were  about  home,  William 
was  sent  to  prison  three  days  later,  so  it  must 
have  been  the  “  little  maid,’^  Abigail,  whom 
Bailey  saw  standing  in  the  door  way. 

Daniel  Elliott  testified  that  he  heard  one  of 
the  accusing  girls  say  that  she  cried  out  against 
Goodman  Procter  for  sport.  ‘‘The  girls  must 
have  some  sport,’’  she  is  said  to  have  added.® 

Procter  and  his  wife  were  convicted,  and  sen¬ 
tenced  to  be  hanged.  Every  effort  possible  was 
made  to  save  him  from  suffering  the  penalty. 
John  Wise  and  thirty-one  old  neighbors  in  Ips¬ 
wich  signed  a  petition  in  his  behalf  to  the 
court  of  assistants.  They  said  : 

“  We  reckon  it  within  the  duties  of  our  charity,  that 
teaches  us  to  do  as  we  would  he  done  hy,  to  offer  thus  much 

2  Putnam’s  Salem  Witchcraft  Explained,  449. 


THE  PROCTERS,  WILLARD,  CARRIER  AND  HOW.  175 

for  the  clearing  of  our  neighbors’  innocency,  viz.,  that  we 
never  had  the  least  knowledge  of  such  a  nefandus  wicked¬ 
ness  in  our  neighbors  since  they  have  been  within  our  ac¬ 
quaintance.  .  .  .  As  to  what  we  have  ever  seen  or  heard 
of  them,  upon  our  conscience  we  judge  them  innocent  of 
the  crime  objected.” 

Nathaniel  Felton  and  twenty  of  their  nearer 


NATHANIEL  FELTON,  JR.  HOUSE. 


Salem  Village  neighbors  signed  a  similar  peti¬ 
tion,  saying  : 

“We  whose  names  are  underwritten,  having  several 
years  known  John  Procter  and  his  wife  do  testify  that  we 
never  heard  or  understood  that  they  were  ever  suspected  to 
ho  guilty  of  the  crime  now  charged  upon  them,  and  several 
of  us,  being  their  near  neighbors,  do  testify,  that  to  our 
apprelieusion,  they  lived  Christian  like  in  their  family,  and 
were  ever  ready  to  help  such  as  stood  in  need  of  their 
help.” 

Procter  wrote  a  letter  to  Eev.  Messrs.  Increase 


176  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

Mather,  Allen,  Moody,  Willard  and  Bailey, 
which  was  signed  by  himself  and  several  of  his 
fellow  prisoners,  in  which  he  said  : 

“  Here  are  five  persons  who  have  lately  confessed  them¬ 
selves  to  he  witches,  and  do  accuse  some  of  us  of  being 
along  with  them  at  a  sacrament,  since  we  were  committed 
into  close  prison,  which  we  know  to  be  lies,  two  of  the  five 
are  (Carrier’s  children)  young  men,  who  would  not  confess 
anything  till  they  tied  them  neck  and  heels,  till  the  blood 
was  ready  to  come  out  of  their  noses.  My  son  William 
Procter,  because  he  would  not  confess  that  he  was  guilty 
when  he  was  innocent,  they  tied  him  neck  and  heels  till 
the  blood  gushed  out  at  his  nose.” 

This  letter  was  written  after  the  preliminary 
examinations,  and  while  the  prisoners  were  ly¬ 
ing  in  jail  awaiting  trial.  They  asked  that  they 
might  be  tried  in  Boston,  and  if  not,  that  they 
have  other  magistrates, — requests  which  show 
in  the  strongest  manner  that  the  trials  were  no¬ 
toriously  unfair,  for  no  accused  persons  would 
take  the  risk  of  offending  the  magistrates  before 
whom  they  might  be  tried  unless  the  emergency 
was  a  most  extraordinary  one,  because  failure  to 
attain  the  object  sought  was  sure  to  be  prejudi¬ 
cial  to  their  cause.  They  also  begged  that  some 
of  the  ministers  he  present  at  the  trials,  “  hop¬ 
ing  thereby  you  may  be  the  means  of  saving  the 
shedding  of  our  innocent  blood.^^  No  attention 
was  paid  to  this  appeal  for  fairness  in  trial,  nor 
to  the  appeals  for  life  subsequent  to  Procter’s 
conviction  and  sentence.  He  was  executed  on 
August  19.  His  body,  it  is  believed  by  his  de- 


THE  PROCTERS,  WILLARD,  CARRIER  AND  HOW.  177 

scendants,  was  recovered  afterwards  and  buried 
on  his  farm,  where  it  has  since  reposed. 

Elizabeth  Procter  escaped  by  pleading  preg¬ 
nancy.  Some  months  after  the  death  of  her 
husband  she  gave  birth  to  a  child.®  Her  home 
had  been  desolated.  Not  .only  had  her  husband 
been  hanged,  three  of  her  children  imprisoned, 
and  she  herself  brought  within  the  very  shadow 
of  the  gallows,  but  the  officers  of  the  law  had 
stripped  that  home  of  all  its  worldly  posses¬ 
sions.  Her  execution  was  again  ordered  early 
in  1693,  but  Gov.  Phips  granted  a  reprieve. 
Many  of  her  relatives  in  Lynn  were  accused  and 
some  brought  to  trial.  All  in  all,  the  severe 
treatment  of  this  family  has  led  to  the  charge 
of  special  persecution.  The  reason  for  this,  it 
is  believed,  was  Procter's  intense  opposition  to 
the  witchcraft  prosecutions  from  the  very  begin¬ 
ning,  and  particularly  when  he  said  he  could 
^‘whip  the  devil  out  of  them.^’^  Possibly  if  he 
could  have  applied  his  remedy  to  the  accusing 
girls,  in  the  beginning,  we  should  never  have 
had  any  “  Salem  Village  Witchcraft.’’ 

John  Willard  of  Salem  Farms  was  employed 

3  Savage’s  Genealogical  Dictionary  of  New  England  gives 
the  date  Jan.  27,  1692-3;  but  the  correctness  of  this  is  ques¬ 
tioned. 

4  “  Lieut.  Ingersoll  declared  yt  John  Proctor  tould  Joseph 
Pope  yt  if  he  hade  John  Indian  in  his  custody  he  would  soon 
beat  ye  devill  out  of  him,  and  sojsaid  sever  all  others.”  Court 
Records,  Salem. 


178  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

during  the  earlier  days  of  the  witchcraft  prose¬ 
cutions  to  assist  in  bringing  in  persons  accused. 
Accusations  were  finally  made  against  Willard 
himself.  It  has  been  stated  that  he  was  charged 
because  he  had  expressed  sympathy  with  the  ac¬ 
cused  and  doubts  of  the  justice  of  the  proceed¬ 
ings.  One  remark  quoted  is :  Hang  them, 
they  are  all  witches.’^  Just  why  this  remark 
should  bring  upon  him  the  displeasure  of  the 
prosecutors  is  not  easy  to  understand.  Is  it  not 
more  probable  that  he  was  cried  out  against,  as 
so  many  others  were,  from  no  apparent  motive, 
but  through  the  excitement  and  terror  of  the 
times?  He  was  talked  about  for  some  time 
before  any  movement  was  made  to  arrest  him. 
He  went  to  his  grandfather,  Bray  Wilkins,  and 
asked  the  old  man  to  pray  with  him,  but  Wil¬ 
kins  was  just  going  from  home  and  could  not 
stop  then.  He  told  Willard  he  would  not  be 
unwilling  if  he  got  home  before  night,  but  Wil¬ 
lard  did  not  reappear.  On  election  week  Wilkins 
and  his  wife,  both  more  than  eighty  years  of  age, 
rode  to  Boston  on  their  horse.  Willard  went 
also  with  Henry  Wilkins,  jr.  Daniel  Wilkins, 
Henry’s  son,  had  heard  the  stories  about  Willard 
and  protested  against  his  father  going  with  him. 
He  is  quoted  as  saying  of  Willard  :  It  were 
well  if  Willard  were  hanged.”  On  election  day, 
Bray  Wilkins  and  his  wife  and  Kev.  Deodat 
Lawson  were  at  Lieut.  Eichard  Ways’  house  for 


THE  PROCTORS,  WILLARD,  CARRIER  AND  HOW.  179 

dinner.  Willard  and  Henry  Wilkins  came  in 
later.  The  elder  Wilkins  says  he  thought  Wil¬ 
lard  did  not  look  on  him  kindly,  for,  he  says, 
to  my  apprehension,  he  looked  after  such  a 
sort  upon  me  as  I  never  before  discerned  in 
any.^^  Wilkins  was  taken  very  sick  that  after¬ 
noon  and  remained  so  some  days.  He  was  car¬ 
ried  home,  and  on  arriving  there,  found  Daniel 
Wilkins,  the  young  man  who  had  advised  his 
father  not  to  go  to  Boston  with  Willard,  also 
very  ill.  The  old  man  himself  fell  ill  again. 
Mercy  Lewis  and  Mary  Walcott  were  sent  for 
to  come  and  solve  the  mystery  of  so  much  sick¬ 
ness  in  the  Wilkins  family.  They  were,  as 
usual,  equal  to  the  occasion.  They  ^^saw  the 
apparitions  of  Sarah  Buckley  and  John  Willard 
upon  the  throat  and  breast  of  Henry  Wilkins,’^ 
and  saw  them  press  and  choke  him  until  he 
died.  Lewis  then  went  to  the  room  where  old 
Bray  Wilkins  lay.  Asked  if  she  saw  any  thing, 
she  replied :  Yes,  they  are  looking  for  John 
Willard A  little  later  she  exclaimed  :  ‘‘  There 
he  is  upon  his  grandfather^s  belly.’’ 

A  warrant  for  Willard’s  arrest  was  issued  on 
May  10  on  complaint  of  Thos.  Fuller  and  others. 
Two  days  later.  Constable  Putnam  returned  the 
document  with  the  endorsement  that  he  had 
made  search  for  him  and  could  not  find  him.  He 
was  produced  in  court  on  the  18th,  having  been 
arrested  in  Groton.  Among  the  more  interest- 


180  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


ing  papers  on  file  in  the  case  is  the  following 
deposition  of  Mrs.  Ann  Putnam.  Whether  it 
was  presented  to  the  magistrates  to  induce  them 
to  issue  a  warrant  for  Willard’s  arrest,  or  was 
given  in  at  the  preliminary  examination  at 


SITE  OF  BEADLE  TAVERN,  ESSEX  STREET,  SALEM,  MASS. 

Beadle’s  tavern  in  Salem,  we  have  no  means  of 

knowing.  The  document  is  as  follows  : 

The  shape  of  Samuel  Fuller  and  Lydia  Wilkins  this  day 
told  me  at  my  own  house  by  the  bedside,  who  appeared  in 
winding  sheets,  that  if  I  did  not  go  and  tell  Mr.  Hathorne 
that  John  Willard  had  murdered  them  they  would  tear  me 
to  pieces.  .  .  .  At  the  same  time  the  ai)parition  of  John 


THE  PROCTERS,  WILLARD,  CARRIER  AND  HOW.  181 

Willard  told  me  that  he  had  killed  Samuel  Fuller,  Lydia 
Wilkins,  Goody  Shaw  and  Fuller’s  second  wife,  and 
Aaron  Way’s  child,  and  Ben  Fuller’s  child  and  this  depo¬ 
nent’s  child,  Sarah,  six  weeks  old,  and  Phillip  Knight’s 
child  with  the  help  of  William  Hobbs,  and  Jonathan 
Knight’s  child  and  two  of  Ezekiel  Cheever’s  children  with 
the  help  of  William  Hobbs ;  and  Elliott  and  Isaac  Nichols 


BENJAMIN  FULLER  HOUSE,  MIDDLETON. 

[His  child  bewitched  to  death  by  Willard,] 


with  the  help  of  William  Hohhs.  .  .  .  Joseph  Fuler’s 
apparition  also  the  same  day  came  to  me  and  told  me  that 
Goody  Corey  had  killed  him. 

Must  we  not  accept  one  of  two  explanations 
of  this  remarkable  piece  of  evidence  :  that  the 
whole  story  was  literally  true,  and  therefore 


182  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


witchcraft  a  reality,  or  that  Mrs.  Ann  Putnam 
deliberately  falsified?  Will  the  theory  of  gen¬ 
eral  terror  and  hallucination  in  the  community 
sufficiently  explain  the  statement?  Were  the 
people  out  of  their  wits”,  as  Martha  Carrier 
said  ?  On  the  other  hand,  I  am  bound  to  say 
that  I  find  no  evidence  of  any  cause  which 
should  prompt  Mrs.  Putnam  to  make  such 
serious  charges  against  Willard  and  others,  un¬ 
less  we  accept  the  claim  of  some  writers  who 
profess  to  believe  that  it  was  for  the  purpose  of 
supporting  the  general  plan  of  prosecution  for 
witchcraft.  Willard  was  committed  to  jail,  and 
subsequently  tried  at  the  August  session  of  the 
court.  Only  one  piece  of  evidence  has  been  pre¬ 
served  from  this  trial.  Susan  Sheldon,  eighteen 
years  of  age,  testified  that  at  Nathaniel  Inger- 
solks  house,  on  May  9,  she  saw  the  apparitions 
of  four  persons. — 

■William  Shaw’s  first  wife,  the  widow  Cook,  Goodman 
Jones  and  his  child,  and  among  these  came  the  apparition 
of  John  Willard  to  whom  these  four  said,  yon  have  mur¬ 
dered  us.  These  four  having  said  thus  to  Willard  they 
turned  as  red  as  blood.  And  turning  about  to  look  at  me 
they  turned  as  pale  as  death.  These  four  desired  me  to  tell 
Mr.  Hathorne.  Willard  hearing  them,  pulled  out  a  knife, 
saying  if  I  did  he  would  cut  my  throat.”  .  .  .  On  anoth¬ 
er  occasion  there  came  to  her  a  shining  man  and  told  her  to 
go  and  tell  Hathorne.  She  told  him  she  would  if  he  would 
hunt  Willard  away,  she  would  believe  what  he  said.  “With 
that  the  shining  man  held  up  his  hands  and  Willard  van¬ 
ished  away.  About  two  hours  after,  the  same  appeared  to 
me  again  and  the  said  Willard  with  them,  and  I  asked  them 


THE  PROCTERS,  WILLARD,  CARRIER  AND  HOW.  183 

where  their  wounds  were  and  they  said  there  would  come 
an  angel  from  Heayen  and  would  show  them,  and  forthwith 
the  angel  came.  .  .  .  And  the  angel  lifted  up  his  wind¬ 

ing  sheet,  and  out  of  his  left  side  he  pulled  a  pitchfork-tine 
and  put  it  in  again,  and  likewise  he  opened  all  the  winding 
sheets  and  showed  all  the  wounds.  And  the  white  man 
told  me  to  tell  Mr.  Hathorne  of  it  and  I  told  him  to  hunt 
Willard  away,  and  I  would,  and  he  held  up  his  hand,  and 
he  vanished  away.”  She  also  saw  Willard  suckle  the  ap¬ 
paritions  of  two  black  pigs  on  his  breasts. 


THOMAS  FULLER  HOUSE,  MIDDLETON. 

[Fuller  was  a  complainant  against  W’illard.] 


John  Willard  was  found  guilty  and  sentenced 
to  be  hanged ;  and  on  August  19  he  was  ex¬ 
ecuted.  Brattle  says  of  Willard  and  Procter  at 
their  execution,  that  ‘‘  their  whole  management 
of  themselves  from  the  jail  to  the  gallows  was 
very  affecting,  and  melting  to  the  hearts  of  some 
considerable  spectators. 


6  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  I.,  V.,  68. 


184  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

Martha  Carrier  was  arrested,  probably  on  May 
28,  as  the  warrant  against  her  was  issued  on 
that  day.  She  was  examined  on  the  31st.  Mar¬ 
tha  was  about  forty  years  of  age,  and  the  mother 
of  a  large  family  of  children,  four  of  whom 
were  taken  into  custody  at  the  same  time  that 
she  was.  We  have  little  information  regarding 
her  life  previous  to  her  arrest.  At  the  examin¬ 
ation  before  the  local  magistrates  they  said  to 
her :  “  You  see  you  look  upon  them  and  they 
fall  down.’’  It  is  false,”  she  replied  ;  **  the 
devil  is  a  liar.  I  looked  upon  none  since  I  came 
into  the  room  but  you.”  Susan  Sheldon  said :  I 
wonder  what  could  you  murder  thirteen  persons 
for.”  Goodwife  Carrier  repelled  the  insinuation, 
and  the  afflicted  all  had  terrible  fits.  She 
charged  that  the  magistrates  were  unfair,  and 
said  :  “  It  is  a  shameful  thing  that  you  should 
mind  these  folks  that  are  out  of  their  wits.”  To 
the  accusers  she  cried:  ‘‘You  lie,  I  am 
wronged.”  The  recorder  of  the  trial  adds  : 

“The  tortures  of  the  afflicted  were  so  great  that  there  was 
no  enduring  it,  so  that  she  was  ordered  away  and  to  be 
bound  hand  and  foot  with  all  expedition,  the  afflicted  in 
the  meanwhile  almost  killed.  As  soon  as  she  was  well 
bound  they  all  had  strange  and  sudden  cease.” 

Martha  Carrier  was  committed  to  prison 
where  she  remained  until  the  August  term  of 
court,  when  she  was  tried,  convicted  and  sen¬ 
tenced.  Her  execution  took  place  on  the  19th  of 
the  same  month. 


THE  PROCTERS,  WILLARD,  CARRIER  AND  HOW.  185 

Her  daughter  Sarah,  eight  years  of  age,  con¬ 
fessed  herself  a  witch  and  testified  against  her 
mother.  Little  Sarah  said  she  had  been  a  witch 
since  she  was  six  years  old,  that  her  mother 
made  her  a  witch  and  made  her  set  her  hand  to 
the  book.  The  place  where  she  did  it  was  in 
Andrew  Foster’s  pasture.  The  witches  promised 
to  give  her  a  black  dog,  but  it  never  came  to  her. 
A  cat  came  to  her  and  said  it  would  tear  her  in 
pieces  if  she  would  not  set  her  hand  to  the 
book.  Her  mother  came  like  a  black  cat.  The 
cat  told  her  that  she  was  her  mother.  Richard 
Carrier,  eighteen  years  of  age,  told  the  magis¬ 
trates  that  he  had  “  been  in  the  devil’s  snare.” 
His  examination  continued  as  follows  : 

Is  your  brother  Andrew  ensnared  by  the  devil’s  snare? — 
Yes. 

How  long  has  your  brother  been  a  witch  ?— Near  a  month. 

How  long  have  you  been  a  witch  ? — Not  long.* 

Have  you  joined  in  afflicting  the  afflicted  persons? — Yes. 

You  helped  to  hurt  Timothy  Swan,  did  you? — Yes. 

How  long  have  you  been  a  witch  ? — About  five  weeks. 

Who  was  at  the  Village  meeting  when  you  were  there? — 
Goodwife  How,  Goodwife  Nurse,  Goodwife  Wilds,  Procter 
and  his  wife,  Mrs.  Bradbury  and  Corey’s  wife. 

What  did  they  do  there  ? — Eat,  and  drink  wine. 

From  whence  had  you  your  wine?— From  Salem,  I  think. 

Goodwife  Oliver  there?— Yes,  I  know  her. 

During  the  trial  of  Martha  Carrier,  Benjamin 
Abbott  testified  that  he  had  some  land  granted 
to  him  by  the  town  of  Andover,  and, — 

“  When  this  land  came  to  be  laid  out  Goodwife  Carrier 
was  very  angry,  and  said  she  would  stick  as  close  to  Benja- 


186  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


min  Abbott  as  the  bark  stuck  to  a  tree,  and  that  I  should 
repent  of  it  before  seven  years  came  to  an  end,  and  that 
Dr.  Prescott  could  never  cure  me.  These  words  were  also 
heard  by  Allen  Toothaker.  She  also  said  to  Ralph  Farnum, 
jr.,  that  she  would  hold  my  nose  so  close  to  the  grind  stone 
as  ever  it  was  held  since  my  name  was  Benjamin  Abbott. 
Presently  after  I  was  taken  with  a  swelling  in  my  foot,  and 
then  was  taken  with  a  pain  in  my  side,  exceedingly  tor¬ 
mented,  which  led  to  a  sore  which  was  lanced  by  Dr.  Pres¬ 
cott,  and  several  gallons  of  corruption  did  run  out,  as  was 
judged.’'  This  continued  six  weeks  and  subsequently  he 
had  two  sores  in  the  groin  which  brought  him  almost  to 
death’s  door  and  continued,  “  until  Goodwife  Carrier  was 
taken  and  carried  away  by  the  constable,  and  that  very  day 
I  began  to  grow  better,”  therefore  he  had  great  cause  to 
think  that  Carrier  had  a  great  hand  in  his  sickness.  Ab¬ 
bott’s  wife  testified  to  all  the  above,  and  also  that  there  was 
“  terrible  sickness  and  death  among  the  cows,  some  of 
whom  would  come  up  out  of  the  woods  with  their  tongues 
hanging  out  of  their  mouths  in  a  strange,  affrighting  man¬ 
ner.” 

The  case  of  Elizabeth  How,  wife  of  John 
How,  husbandman,  sometimes  described  as  of 
Ipswich  and  sometimes  as  of  Topsfield,  has  al¬ 
ways  excited  much  interest.  The  documents  in 
the  case  show  that  she  was  a  woman  of  most 
exemplary  character,  devout  and  pious,  kind  and 
charitable.  These  traits  availed  her  nothing, 
however,  when  children  accused  her  of  witch¬ 
craft.  She  was  arrested  on  May  29,  on  a  war¬ 
rant  issued  the  previous  day,  and  brought  before 
the  magistrates  for  examination  on  the  31st. 
Elizabeth  How  was  torn  from  a  loving  and  af¬ 
flicted  husband  and  two  interesting  daughters. 


x’HE  PROCTERS,  WILLARD,  CARRIER  AND  HOW.  187 

Her  husband  was  blind,  and  it  is  related  that 
after  his  wife  was  placed  in  Salem  jail  he  and 
one  daughter  used  to  ride  thither  twice  each 
week  to  visit  her.  After  the  conviction  and  sen¬ 
tence,  one  of  the  devoted  daughters  went  to 
Boston  to  beg  for  the  life  of  her  mother,  but  the 
governor  was  immovable.  On  her  being  brought 
before  the  magistrates,  the  girls  went  through 
their  usual  performances.  What  say  you  to 
this  charge.^’^  asked  Hathorne.  If  it  was  the 
last  moment  I  was  ‘to  live,”  she  replied,  **  God 
knows  I  am  innocent  of  anything  in  this 
nature.”  She  was  committed  for  trial,  and  tried 
at  the  sitting  of  the  court  in  July.  The  first 
charge  against  her  was  made  by  a  Perley  girl  ten 
years  of  age.  There  had  been  trouble  between 
the  How  and  Perley  families,  which  is  pretty 
clearly  stated  in  the  testimony  that  follows. 
Timothy  Perley  and  his  wife  Deborah  testified 
that, — 

There  being  some  difference  between  Goode  How  and 
Timothy  Perley  about  some  boards,  the  night  following 
three  of  our  cows  lay  out,  and  finding  them  the  next  morn¬ 
ing  we  went  to  milk  them  and  one  of  them  did  not  give 
but  two  or  three  spoons  fuls  of  milk  and  one  of  the  other 
cows  did  not  give  above  a  half  a  pint,  and  the  other  gave  a 
quart,  and  these  cows  used  to  give  three  or  four  quarts  at  a 
meale ;  two  of  these  cows  continued  to  give  little  or  nothing 
four  or  five  meals  and  yet  they  went  in  a  good  English  pas¬ 
ture,  and  within  four  days  the  cows  gave  their  full  propor¬ 
tion  of  milk  that  they  used  to  give. 

These  witnesses  further  deposed  that  Eliza¬ 
beth  How — 


188  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


“  Afflicted  and  tortured  their  daughter,  ten  years  of  age, 
until  she  pined  away  to  skin  and  hone  and  ended  her  sor¬ 
rowful  life.”  Also  that  How  desired  to  join  the  church  in 
Ipswich  and  they  went  there  to  testify  against  her  and 
“  within  a  few  days  after  had  a  cow  well  in  the  morning  as 
far  as  we  know,  this  cow  was  taken  strangely  running  about 
like  a  mad  thing  a  little  while  and  then  ran  into  a  great 
pond  and  drowned  herself,  and  as  soon  as  she  was  dead  my 
sons  and  myself  towed  her  to  the  shore  and  she  stunk  so 
that  we  had  much  ado  to  slea  her.” 

Francis  Lane  testified  that  he  helped  Janies 
How  get  out  some  posts  and  rails,  and  How^s 
wife  told  them  she  did  not  think  the  posts  and 
rails  would  do,  because  John  Perley  helped  get 
them,  and  when  they  went  to  deliver  the  posts 
and  rails  the  ends  of  some  forty  broke  off, 
although  Lane  said,  that  in  his  apprehension 
they  were  good  sound  rails.’’  Capt.  John  How, 
brother-in-law  of  Elizabeth,  testified  that  she 
asked  him  to  go  with  her  to  Salem  Farms,  when 
she  was  to  be  examined,  and  he  declined  because 
he  had  to  go  to  Ipswich,  and  that  soon  after  he 
got  home, 

“  Standing  at  my  own  door  talking  with  one  of  my 
neighbors,  I  had  a  sow  with  six  smale  pigs  in  the  yard,  the 
sow  was  as  well  as  far  as  I  know  as  ever  one,  a  sudden  she 
leaped  up  about  three  or  four  feet  high  and  turned  about 
and  gave  one  squeak  and  fell  down  dead.” 

He  told  his  neighbor  he  thought  the  animal 
was  bewitched,  and  then  cut  off  her  ear,  and  the 
hand  he  had  the  knife  in  was  “  so  numb  and  full 
of  pain  that  night  and  several  days  after  that  I 
could  not  do  any  work,  and  I  suspected  no  other 


THE  PROCTERS,  WILLARD,  CARRIER  AND  HOW.  189 

person  but  my  said  sister  Elizabeth  How.’^ 
Samuel  Phillips  and  Mr.  Payson,  minister  of 
Rowley,  went  one  day  to  see  this  ten  years  old 
daughter  of  the  Perleys,  and  she  told  Goodwife 
How  in  their  presence  that  if  she  did  complain 
of  her  in  her  fits  she  did  not  know  that  she  did 
so.’^  They  also  affirmed  that  a  brother  of  the 
girl,  looking  out  of  a  chamber  window,  told  her 
to  say  that  Goodwife  How  was  a  witch,  and 
the  girl  spake  not  a  word.’^  Elizabeth  How 
was  hanged  with  others  on  Tuesday,  July  19. 


CHAPTER  X 


SUSANNA  MARTIN,  MARY  T^ASTY AND  OTHRRS. 

Martin  of  Amesbury  was  a 
widow.  She  had  been  charged  with 
witchcraft  as  early  as  1669,  but  escaped 
conviction  at  that  time.  Her  examination  in 
1692  took  place  at  the  Village  on  May  2,  the 
warrant  having  been  issued  on  the  30th  of  April. 
In  the  preliminary  examination,  Goodwife  Mar¬ 
tin  was  confronted  by  about  the  same  witnesses 
and  the  same  sort  of  testimony  as  those  who 
had  preceded  her.  The  following  extract  from 
the  record  of  her  examination  is  interesting  : — 

Hath  this  woman  hurt  you? — Abigail  Williams  declared 
that  she  had  hurt  her  often.  Ann  Putnam  threw  her  glove 
at  her  in  a  fit.  And  the  rest  were  struck  dumb  at  her  pres¬ 
ence. 

What,  do  you  laugh  at  it  ? — Well  I  may  at  such  folly. 

^  ^ 

3^  7^  7^ 

What  ails  these  people  ? — I  do  not  know. 

But  what  do  you  think  ails  them? — I  do  not  desire  to 
spend  my  judgement  upon  it. 

Do  you  think  they  are  bewitched  ? — No,  I  do  not  think 
they  are. 

Well  tell  us  your  thoughts  about  them. — My  thoughts  are 
mine  own  when  they  are  in,  but  when  they  are  out  they  are 
another’s. 


SUSANNA  MARTIN,  MARY  EASTY  AND  OTHERS.  191 

Do  you  believe  these  afflicted  persons  do  not  say  true  ? — 
They  may  lie  for  aught  I  know. 

May  not  you  lie  ? — I  dare  not  tell  a  lie  if  it  would  save 
my  life. 

Who  do  you  think  is  their  master  ? — If  they  be  dealing  in 
the  black  art  you  may  know  as  well  as  I. 

The  afflicted  complained  that  they  were 
pinched  and  saw  her  on  the  beam.  Then  the 
magistrates  said:  Pray  God  discover  you  if 
you  be  guilty.’^  Martin  replied :  Amen,  amen. 
A  false  tongue  will  never  make  a  guilty  person.’^ 
Then  there  was  an  uproar  in  the  room.  The 
girls  had  terrible  fits  and  John  Indian  shouted : 
“  She  bites,  she  bites. All  the  girls  pretended 
to  be  struck  down  when  they  approached  her. 
Martin  was  committed  to  jail,  where  she  re¬ 
mained  until  the  29th  of  June  when  she  was 
brought  before  the  higher  court  for  trial.  At 
her  trial  one  singular  piece  of  testimony  was 
offered.  It  was  evidence  of  such  peculiar  neat¬ 
ness  on  the  part  of  Goodwife  Martin  as  to  lead 
a  neighbor  to  conclude  that  she  was  a  witch. 
This  neighbor  testified  that  Susanna  Martin 
came  to  her  house  in  Newbury  one  very  stormy 
day  in  an  extraordinary  dirty  season,’^  when  it 
was  not  fit  for  any  person  to  travel.  She  asked 
her  if  she  came  from  Amesbury  afoot,  and  ex¬ 
pressed  surprise  thereat,  and  told  her  children 
to  give  Mrs.  Martin  a  chance  to  get  to  the  fire 
and  dry  herself.  Martin  replied,  she  was  as 
dry  as  I  was,  and  I  could  not  perceive  that  the 


192  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


soles  of  her  shoes  were  wet.’’  This,  the  witness 
declared,  startled  her  and  she  at  once  concluded 
that  the  woman  was  a  witch. 

John  Kembal  deposed  that  he  agreed  to  pur¬ 
chase  a  puppy  from  Martin,  but  not  keeping  his 
bargain,  and  purchasing  a  puppy  from  some  one 
else,  she  remarked  she  would  “  give  him  puppies 
enough.”  Coming  from  his  intended’s  house 
soon  after  sunset  one  night, 

“  There  did  arise  a  little  black  cloud  in  the  north-west 
and  a  few  drops  of  rain  and  the  wind  blew  hard.  In  going 
between  John  Weed’s  house  and  the  meetinghouse  there 
did  appear  a  little  thing  like  a  puppy  of  a  darkish  color.  It 
shot  between  my  legs  forward  and  backward.”  He  used  all 
possible  endeavors  to  cut  it  with  his  axe,  but  could  not  hurt 
it,  and  as  he  was  thus  laboring  with  his  axe,  the  puppy  gave 
a  little  jump  from  him  and  seemed  to  go  into  the  ground. 
“  In  a  little  further  going  there  did  appear  a  black  puppy 
somewhat  bigger  than  the  first  but  as  black  as  a  coal,”  to 
his  apprehension,  which  came  against  him  “  with  such  vio¬ 
lence  as  its  quick  motions  did  exceed  the  motions  of  his 
axe,”  do  what  he  could.  And  it  flew  at  his  belly,  and 
away,  and  then  at  his  throat  and  over  his  shoulder  one  way, 
and  off  and  up  at  it  again  another  way,  and  with  such  vio¬ 
lence  did  it  assault  him  as  if  it  would  tear  out  his  throat  or 
his  belly.  He  testified  that  he  was  much  frightened  but 
recovered  himself  and  ran  to  the  fence,  “  and  calling  upon 
God  and  naming  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  then  it  in¬ 
visibly  flew  away.” 

Barnard  Peach  deposed  that  Susanna  Martin, 

six  or  seven  years  past,”  came  in  at  his  win¬ 
dow,  took  hold  of  his  feet  and  drew  his  body 
into  a  heap  and  lay  upon  him  for  an  hour  and  a 
half  or  two  hours  ;  finally  he  put  out  his  hand 


SUSANNA  MARTIN,  MARY  EASTY  AND  OTHERS.  193 

and  taking  hold  of  hers  drew  it  up  to  his  mouth 
and  bit  three  of  her  fingers  to  the  breaking  of 
the  bones.  Several  other  depositions  of  similar 
character  to  these  were  given  in  at  the  trial, 
and  Susanna  Martin  was  found  guilty  and  exe¬ 
cuted  on  July  19. 

Mary  Easty,  wife  of  Isaac  Easty  of  Topsfield, 
and  sister  of  Kebecca  Nurse  and  Sarah  Cloyse, 
was  fifty-eight  years  of  age  in  1692,  and  the 
mother  of  seven  children.  The  Eastys  lived  on, 
and  owned  one  of  the  largest  farms  in  the  town. 
It  was  the  farm  known  to  the  present  generation 
as  the  Peirce  farm,  having  for  many  years  been 
owned  by  Col.  Thomas  W.  Peirce,  and  occupied 
by  him  as  a  summer  residence  until  his  death  in 
1885.  Previous  to  the  ownership  of  Col.  Peirce 
the  proprietor  was  Mr.  B.  W.  Crowninshield.  A 
warrant  for  the  arrest  of  Mary  Easty  was  issued 
by  the  magistrates  on  April  21,  and  she  was  ex¬ 
amined  on  the  following  day  and  committed  to 
prison.  During  her  examination,  the  magistrates 
said  to  her  :  “  Confess  if  you  be  guilty  ;  to 
which  she  replied  :  “  I  will  say  it,  if  it  was  my 
last  time,  I  am  clear  of  this  sin.”  Her  answers 
to  this  and  other  questions  had  evidently  led  the 
magistrates  to  have  doubts  as  to  her  guilt,  for 
they  asked  the  accusing  girls  if  they  were  cer¬ 
tain  this  was  the  woman,  and  they  all  went  into 
fits.  Subsequently  they  said:  “0,  Goody  Easty, 
Goody  Easty,  you  are  the  woman,  you  are  the 


194  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

woman. On  May  18,  for  reasons  which  the 
present  age  knows  not  nor  ever  can  know,  Mary 
Easty  was  released.  Two  days  after  her  dis¬ 
charge,  Mercy  Lewis,  living  at  Constable  John 
Putnam’s,  had  a  fit  and  performed  in  a  man¬ 
ner  usual  to  the  accusing  girls.  A  messenger 
was  sent  for  Ann  Putnam  to  come  and  tell  who 
afflicted  Mercy.  At  Ann’s  home  he  found  Abi¬ 
gail  Williams,  and  the  girls  visited  Mercy  Lewis 
and  declared  that  they  saw  Mary  Easty  and 
John  Willard  afflicting  her  body.^  John  Putnam 
and  Benjamin  Hutchinson  went  to  Salem  the 
night  of  the  20th  of  May  and  procured  from 
Hathorne  a  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  Mrs.  Easty. 
She  was  apprehended  the  next  morning  and 
taken  to  Beadle’s  in  Salem  for  examination. 

“  After  midnight,  she  was  aroused  from  sleep  by  the  un¬ 
feeling  marshal,  torn  from  her  husband  and  children, 
carried  back  to  prison,  loaded  with  chains,  and  finally  con¬ 
signed  to  a  dreadful  and  most  cruel  death.  She  was  an  ex¬ 
cellent  and  pious  matron.  Her  husband,  referring  to  the 
transaction  nearly  twenty  years  afterwards  justly  expressed 
what  all  must  feel,  that  it  was  ‘  a  hellish  molestation.'  ”2 

Eor  the  second  time  Mary  Easty  was  examined 
and  committed  to  jail.  She  remained  there 
from  May  21  until  the  September  sitting  of  the 
court,  when  she  was  tried,  convicted  and  sen¬ 
tenced.  Previous  to  the  trial,  she  united  with 
her  sister,  Sarah  Cloyse,  in  a  request  to  the 
court  that  the  judges  would  act  as  counsel  for 

1  Essex  Court  Papers.  2  Salem  Witchcraft,  II.,  205. 


\ 


f 


CONSTABLE  PUTNAM’S  HOUSE,  DANVERS, 


SUSANNA  MAKTIN,  MARY  EASTY  AND  OTHERS.  195 

them  and  direct  them  wherein  they  stood  in 
need.  This  request  to  the  judges  after  several 
trials  had  been  held  would  indicate  that  such 
service  was  not  being  rendered  to  the  accused 
persons.  That  this  was  the  fact  we  have  al¬ 
ready  seen  in  other  cases.  Instead  of  acting  as 
counsel  for  the  prisoners,  the  judges  usually  per¬ 
formed  more  nearly  the  part  of  prosecuting 
attorneys,  and  cross-examined  the  accused,  often 
in  a  brow-beating  manner.  These  sisters  also 
asked  that  witnesses  in  their  behalf  might  be 
examined.  They  especially  named  the  pastor 
and  others  of  the  church  in  Topsfield.  If  those 
persons  previously  tried  had  been  allowed  their 
rights  in  this  particular,  why  did  Mary  Easty 
and  Sarah  Cloyse  petition  thus  to  the  court? 
After  conviction,  and  while  in  jail  awaiting  ex¬ 
ecution,  Mary  Easty  petitioned  the  Grovernor, 
judges  and  ministers, 

“  Not  for  ray  own  life,  for  I  know  I  must  die,  and  ray 
appointed  time  is  set,  but  the  Lord  he  knows  it  is  that,  if  it 
be  possible,  no  more  innocent  blood  may  be  shed,  which 
undoubtedly  cannot  be  avoided  in  the  way  and  course  you 
go  in.  .  .  .  By  my  own  innocency,  I  know  you  are  in 
the  wrong.  ...  I  would  humbly  beg  of  you  that  your 
honors  would  be  pleased  to  examine  these  afflicted  persons 
strictly,  and  keep  them  apart  some  time,  and  likewise  to 
try  some  of  these  confessing  witches,  I  being  confident 
there  is  several  of  them  has  belied  themselves  and  others, 
as  will  appear,  if  not  in  this  world,  I  am  sure  in  the  world 
to  come  whither  I  am  now  agoing.” 

Sarah  Cloyse  who  was  convicted  and  sentenced 


196  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

at  the  same  time,  was  never  executed.  hTo 
record  or  tradition  remains  to  tell  us  why  she 
was  saved  from  the  slaughter.  Hutchinson 
says,  speaking  generally  of  the  seven  persons 
sentenced  at  this  time,  but  not  executed ; — 
“  Those  who  were  condemned  and  not  executed, 
I  suppose  all  confessed  their  guilt.  I  have  seen 
the  confessions  of  several  of  them.”®  Mary 
Easty  was  hung  on  Thursday,  September  22. 
‘‘When  she  took  her  last  farewell  of  her  hus¬ 
band,  children  and  friends  she  was,”  says 
Calef,  “as  is  reported  by  them  present,  as 
serious,  religious,  distinct  and  affectionate  as 
could  well  be  expressed,  drawing  tears  from  the 
eyes  of  all  present.”^ 

Of  Alice  Parker,  Mary  Parker,  Wilmot  Eeed, 
Margaret  Scott,  Ann  Pudeator  and  Sarah  Wildes 
not  much  that  is  new  can  be  said.  The  docu¬ 
ments  which  have  come  down  to  us  in  their 
cases  are  less  voluminous  than  those  in  many 
others.  What  record  we  have  indicates  that 
theirs  was  the  old,  old  story.  Their  accusers 
were  the  same  as  in  other  cases.  The  testimony 
was  substantially  the  same.  The  conduct  of  the 
accusers  and  the  treatment  of  the  prisoners  by 
the  court  and  the  officers  of  the  law  differed 
only  in  detail  from  that  in  the  cases  already  so 
fully  explained  in  the  preceding  pages. 

Alice  Parker  of  Salem  was  wife  of  John  Par- 


3 Hist.  Mass.,  II.,  59. 


4  Fowler’s  Ed.,  261. 


SUSANNA  MARTIN,  MARY  EASTY  AND  OTHERS.  197 

ker,  mariner.  She  was  arrested  on  a  warrant 
dated  May  12,  examined  before  the  local  magis¬ 
trates  and  committed  to  jail.  Her  trial  took 
place  in  September.  She  was  convicted,  togeth¬ 
er  with  Mary  Parker,  Wilmot  Reed,  Margaret 
Scott  and  Ann  Pudeator.  All  were  executed  on 
Thursday,  the  22d.  One  piece  of  evidence  in 
the  case  of  Alice  Parker  is  somewhat  amusing, 
read  at  this  distance  from  the  tragic  event  with 
which  it  was  connected.  Jonathan  Westgate 
testified  that  Parker  came  to  Beadle^s  tavern 
one  night  and  scolded  her  husband  for  drinking 
so  much  there.  Westgate  took  the  part  of  the 
husband.  Mrs.^ Parker  called  him  a  rogue,  told 
him  he  had  better  mind  his  business,  and  that 
he  had  better  said  nothing.  Some  time  after 
this,  as  he  was  going  home  one  night,  a  black 
hog  appeared  to  him  running  at  him  with  open 
mouth.  He  endeavored  to  get  away  from  it  but 
fell  down.  He  said  he  fell  on  his  hip,  and  his 
knife  run  into  his  hip.  When  he  got  home  his 
knife  was  still  in  the  sheath,  and  when  he  took 
it  out  the  sheath  fell  to  pieces.  His  stockings 
and  shoes  were  full  of  blood,  and  he  had  to 
crawl  along  by  holding  to  the  fence.  The  hog 
he  apprehended  was  either  the  devil  or  some  evil 
thing,  not  a  real  hog.  He  ‘‘  did  then  really 
judge  or  determine  in  his  mind  that  it  was  eith¬ 
er  Goody  Parker  or  by  her  means  and  procuring, 
fearing  that  she  is  a  witch.^^  I  presume  that 


198  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

all  who  read  this  story  will  conclude  that  West- 
gate  was  drunk  that  night,  that  when  he  fell  his 
knife-point  went  through  the  end  of  the  sheath 
and  cut  him,  and  at  the  same  time  the  sheath 
was  cut  open  or  crushed.  When  he  got  up, 
Westgate  was  probably  so  drunk  that  Jie  could 
not  walk  without  holding  on  to  the  fence. 

Mary  Parker  was  of  Andover,  and  a  widow. 
A  warrant  for  her  arrest  was  issued  on  Septem¬ 
ber  1,  being  one  of  the  latest  issued  for  any  per¬ 
son  who  was  subsequently  executed.  She  was 
examined  on  the  following  day  before  Hathorne, 
Corwin,  Gedney  and  Higginson,  “  justices  of  the 
peace.’’  She  was  charged  with  practicing  witch¬ 
craft  on  Martha  Sprague  of  Boxford.  Samuel 
Shattuck  at  the  trial  testified  that  one  time  a 
man  took  her  up  to  carry  her  home, 

“  But  in  a  little  way  going  he  let  her  fall  upon  a  place  of 
stones,  which  did  not  awake  her,  which  caused  me  to  think 
she  was  really  dead,  after  that  we  carried  her  into  the 
house  and  caused  her  clothes  to  he  taken  off,  and  while  we 
were  taking  off  her  clothes  to  put  her  into  bed  she  was  up 
and  laughed  in  our  faces.” 

Jonathan  Bullock  testified  to  seeing  Parker 
lying  out  in  the  dirt  and  snow.  Mary  Wardwell 

owned  she  had  seen  the  shape  of  Parker  when 
she  afflicted  Swan  and  Martha  Sprague,  but  did 
not  know  Parker  was  a  witch.” 

Ann  Pudeator,  widow  of  Jacob  Pudeator,  was 
about  seventy  years  of  age.  She  was  arrested 
on  Thursday,  May  12,  on  charge  of  witchcraft, 


SUSANNA  MARTIN,  MART  EASTY  AND  OTHERS.  199 

and  examined  the  same  day.  She  appears  to 
have  been  discharged  and  rearrested  about  July 
2,  for  on  that  day  she  was  again  examined.  She 
was  committed  to  jail  and  remained  there  until 
tried  at  the  September  sitting  of  the  court  and 
convicted*  We  have  no  particulars  of  her  ex¬ 
ecution  save  that  it  occurred  on  Thursday,  Sep¬ 
tember  22.  After  sentence  Mrs.  Pudeator  ad¬ 
dressed  a  petition  to  the  court  in  which  she 
declared  that  the 

“  Evidence  of  Jno.  Best,  sr.,  and  Jno.  Best,  jr.,  and 
Samuel  Pick  worth,  which  was  given  against  me  in  court* 
were  all  of  them  altogether  false  and  untrue,  and,  besides, 
the  aforesaid  Jno.  Best  hath  been  formerly  whipped  and 
likewise  is  recorded  for  a  liar.” 

Ann  Pudeator  was  the  mother  of  the  notorious 
Thomas  Greenslitt  who  testified  to  the  herculean 
feats  performed,  or  alleged  to  have  been  per¬ 
formed,  by  Mr.  Burroughs.  She  owned  some 
property  in  Salem. 

Wilmot  Keed  was  wife  of  Samuel  Eeed,  a 
Marblehead  fisherman.  Mammy  Bed,”  as  the 
Marbleheaders  used  to  call  her,  had  long  been 
counted  a  witch,  but  her  performances  never 
troubled  her  neighbors  in  the  least.  They  did 
not  think  of  complaining  of  her.  It  remained 
for  the  girls  of  Salem  Village  to  do  that.  This 
woman,  so  runs  the  tradition,  used  to  wish  that 
“  bloody  cleavers  ’’  might  be  found  on  the  cradles 
of  certain  children,  and  whenever  the  wish  was 


200  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

uttered,  of  course,  the  cleaver  was  found  there 
and  the  child  sickened  and  died.  She  would 
cause  milk  to  curdle  as  soon  as  it  left  the  cow.’^ 
''  Newly-churned  butter  turned  to  wool  when  it 
came  in  contact  with  Mammy  Red.’^^  The  war¬ 
rant  for  her  arrest  was  issued  May  28.  The 
arrest  was  made  on  the  31st,  and  the  examina¬ 
tion  held  on  the  same  day.  She  was  charged 
with  practicing  witchcraft  on  Mary  Walcott, 
Mercy  Lewis  and  others.  James  Smith,  con¬ 
stable  of  Marblehead,  on  May  31,  returned  that 
he  had  apprehended  the  said  Reed  and  brought 
her  to  the  house  of  Lieut.  Ingersoll  in  Salem. 
She  had  little  to  say  on  examination,  save  that 
she  knew  nothing  of  the  matter  charged  against 
her.  Her  trial  before  the  court  of  Oyer  and 
Terminer  developed  no  new  facts.  Two  indict¬ 
ments  were  presented,  one  for  afflicting  Elizabeth 
Booth  on  May  31  and  divers  other  days,  and 
the  other  for  afflicting  Elizabeth  Hubbard  on 
May  31  and  divers  other  days.  One  thing  is 
noticeable  here  as  in  many  other  of  these  indict¬ 
ments  :  that  the  indictment  is  not  for  afflicting 
any  of  the  persons  named  in  the  original  com¬ 
plaint,  nor  is  the  offence  alleged  the  same  as  in 
the  warrant  of  arrest.  In  most  of  the  indict¬ 
ments  the  crime  is  alleged  to  have  been  com¬ 
mitted  on  the  day  of  the  preliminary  examina¬ 
tion  and  in  the  court  room.  At  the  preliminary 

5  Road’s  Hist,  and  Traditions  of  Marblehead,  31. 


[Haines  a  witness  against  How.] 


SUSANNA  MARTIN,  MARY  EASTY  AND  OTHERS.  201 


202  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

examination  of  Goodwife  Reed,  Abigail  Wil¬ 
liams  had  a  fit.  Mercy  Lewis  said  Reed  pinched 
her.  Mary  Walcott  said  she  brought  the  book 
to  her.  Ann  Putnam  said  Reed  never  hurt  her, 
but  she  had  seen  her  hurt  others.  Elizabeth 
Hubbard  said  Reed  would  knock  her  down  if  she 
did  not  sign.  Ann  Putnam  cried  out  that  she 
brought  the  book  to  her  ‘‘  just  now.'^  Elizabeth 
Booth  fell  into  a  fit,  and  Mary  Walcott  and  Ann 
Putnam  said  Reed  affiicted  her.  “  Susan  Shel¬ 
don,’’  continues  the  report,  “  ordered  to  .  go  to 
the  examinant,  was  knocked  down  ;  being  carried 
to  Reed  in  a  fit  was  made  well  after  Reed 
grasped  her  arm.  Elizabeth  Hubbard  dealt  with 
after  the  same  manner.”  Reed  looked  upon 
Elizabeth  Hubbard  and  she  was  knocked  down.” 
Abigail  Williams  and  John  Indian  being  carried 
to  Reed  in  a  fit,  were  made  well  by  her  grasping 
their  arms. 

“This  examinant  being  often  urged  what  she  thought 
these  persons  ailed  would  reply,  I  can  not  tell.  Then  being 
asked  if  she  did  not  think  they  were  bewitched,  she  ans¬ 
wered,  I  can  not  tell.  And  being  urged  for  her  opinion  in 
the  case, — all  she  would  say  was,  my  opinion  is  they  are  in 
a  sad  condition.” 

At  her  trial  on  September  14,  Mary  Walcott, 
Mary  Warren,  Ann  Putnam  and  Elizabeth  Hub¬ 
bard  testified  in  exactly  the  same  words,  that, 
before  the  first  examination,  a  woman  came  to 
each  of  them  and  said  her  name  was  Reed,  and 
that  on  the  day  of  examination  they  saw  her 


SUSANNA  MARTIN,  MARY  EASTT  AND  OTHERS.  203 

afflict  others.  Charity  Pitman  and  Sarah  Dodd 
testified  to  a  wordy  encounter  between  Reed  and 
a  woman  of  the  name  of  Syms,  five  years  pre¬ 
viously,  in  which  Reed  wished  certain  troubles 
might  come  to  Syms,  and  soon  after  it  fell  out 
with  Mrs.  Syms  according  to  Reed’s  wish.” 

We  have  little  information  concerning  Mar¬ 
garet  Scott  of  Rowley.  No  doubt  there  were 
numerous  papers  in  her  case  but  they  have  been 
lost  or  destroyed.  Only  a  few  remain.  Her 
preliminary  examination  took  place  on  August 
5,  the  arrest  having  probably  been  made  on  the 
previous  day.  I  am  unable  to  find  anything 
about  her  or  her  family  from  the  records  or  from 
the  writings  of  local  historians.  Margaret  Scott 
was  tried  at  the  September  sitting  of  the  court 
and  sentenced  on  the  17th.  She  was  executed 
on  Thursday,  the  22d.  Fraucis  Wyman  testified 
during  her  trial,  that  quickly  after  the  first 
court  at  Salem  about  witchcraft,  Margaret  Scott 
or  her  appearance  came  to  him  and  did  most 
grievously  torment  him  by  choking  and  almost 
pressing  him  to  death,  and  he  believed  in  his 
heart  that  Margaret  Scott  was  a  witch.”  Phillip 
Nelson  and  his  wife  testified  that  for 

“  Two  or  three  years  before  Robert  Shilleto  died  we  have 
often  heard  him  complaining  of  Margaret  Scott  for  hurting 
of  him  and  often  said  that  she  was  a  witch,  and  so  he  con¬ 
tinued  complaining,  saying  he  should  never  he  well  so  long 
as  Margaret  Scott  lived,  and  so  he  complained  of  Margaret 
Scott  until  he  died.” 


204  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

Most  of  the  evidence  against  this  woman  re¬ 
lated  to  affairs  that  transpired  five  or  ten  years 
previous  to  1692. 

Sarah  Wildes,  wife  of  John  Wildes  of  Salem 
Village  and  Topsfield,  was  arrested  April  22,  on 
a  warrant  issued  the  day  before.  John  Buxton 
and  Thomas  Putnam  went  down  to  Salem  from 
the  Village  on  the  21st,  and  complained  to  the 
justices  of  Mrs.  Wildes.  The  justices  issued 
their  warant  to  Marshal  Herrick  to  arrest  her 
and  bring  her  to  Lieut.  Nathaniel  IngergolPs 

to-morrow  about  ten  of  the  clock. She  was 
then  examined,  during  which  time  Bibber  and 
others  claimed  to  see  her  on  the  beam  of  the 
meeting  house.  The  usual  circle  of  accusing 
girls  was  present  and  they  performed  after 
their  customary  manner.  Sarah  Wildes  was 
committed  to  jail  where  she  remained  until  June 
29,  when  she  was  tried  before  the  higher  court, 
found  guilty  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  On 
Tuesday,  July  19,  she  went  to  that  court  above 
where  no  errors  are  made  in  the  final  judgment. 
The  Wildes  family  belonged  to  the  faction  in 
Topsfield  which  was  active  in  the  feud  with 
Salem  Village.  It  is  not  possible  to  say  wheth¬ 
er  this  in  any  way  influenced  the  prosecutors  of 
Sarah  Wildes.  Ephriam  Wildes,  son  of  Sarah, 
deposed  that  the  marshal  of  Salem  came  to 
Topsfield  with  the  warrants  for  the  arrest  of  his 
mother  and  William  Hobbs  and  his  wife.  The 


SUSANNA  MARTIN,  MARY  EASTY  AND  OTHERS.  205 

marshal  served  that  on  Sarah  Wildes,  and  young 
Wildes  arrested  Hobbs  and  wife.  Subsequently 
they  accused  his  mother,  and  he  thought  it 
might  be  because  he  arrested  them. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  Martha  Carrier  and 
Mary  Parker  were  of  Andover.  So,  too,  was 
Samuel  Ward  well.  Andover  was  particularly 
unfortunate  during  the  rage  of  the  witchcraft 
delusion.  It  suffered  more  than  any  place  save 


WIDOW  MABY  PUTNAM  HOUSE. 

[Mother  of  John  Putnam,  grandmother  of  Gen.  Israel  Putnam. 
Gen.  Putnam  born  here.] 

Salem  Village.  The  outbreak  there,  although 
closely  connected  with  that  in  the  Village,  was 
yet  somewhat  independent  of  it.  The  wife  of 
Joseph  Ballard  of  the  town  had  been  ill  some 
time,  and  the  local  physician  could  not  help  her. 
In  the  spring  of  1692  Ballard,  hearing  of  the 
cases  of  torment  ”  at  the  Village,  sent  down 
there  to  have  Ann  Putnam  come  up  and  see  if 


206  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

she  could  discover  any  witchcraft  about  his 
wife’s  case.  She  came,  accompanied  by  one  of 
her  companions.  They  were  received  with  much 
pomp  and  solemnity,  almost  with  superstition 
befitting  a  tribe  of  barbarians.  The  people 
gathered  in  the  meeting-house,  where  the  Kev. 
Mr.  Barnard  offered  prayer.  The  girls  then 
proceeded  to  the  home  of  Mrs.  Ballard  and  at 
once  named  certain  persons  who,  they  alleged, 
were  tormenting  her.  These  persons  were 
forthwith  arrested  and  sent  to  jail.  Before  the 
excitement  ceased,  nearly  fifty  persons  had  been 
arrested.  Among  them  were  Mary  Osgood,  wife 
of  a  deacon  of  the  church;  Abigail  Faulkner 
and  Elizabeth  Johnson,  daughters  of  Kev.  Fran¬ 
cis  Dane,  the  senior  pastor  of  the  church  ;  two 
of  Mrs.  Faulkner’s  daughters  and  one  of  Mrs. 
Johnson’s  ;  Mrs.  Deliverance  Dane,  daughter-in- 
law  of  the  minister ;  Samuel  Wardwell  and  Ann 
Foster,  besides  Carrier  and  Mary  Parker.  Inti¬ 
mations  were  made  that  Mr.  Dane  himself  and 
Justice  Dudley  Bradstreet,  Mrs.  Bradstreet,  his 
wife,  and  his  brother  John,  were  not  free  from 
suspicion.  John  was  charged  with  bewitching  a 
dog,«  and  the  animal  was  executed,  as  was 
another  in  the  same  town  said  to  be  bewitched. 
The  Brads  tree  ts  fled  the  colony.  Ann  Foster 
died  in  prison.  Abigail  Faulkner  was  tried, 
convicted  and  sentenced,  but  subsequently  re- 

6  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  V.,  71. 


SUSANNA  MARTIN,  MARY  EASTY  AND  OTHERS.  207 

✓ 

prieved.^  Samuel  Wardwell  was  found  guilty 
and  executed.  Sarah,  his  wife,  Elizabeth  John¬ 
son  and  Mary  Lacey  were  tried  the  following 
January  and  convicted.  They  were  sentenced 
to  be  hanged,  but  the  proclamation  of  Gov.  Phips 
set  them  free.  The  papers  in  the  case  of  Sam¬ 
uel  Wardwell  are  quite  numerous  and  are  inter¬ 
esting.  Wardwell  was  about  forty-six  years  of 
age,  and  appears  to  have  been  a  good  average 
citizen  of  the  times.  He  was  taken  before  the 
local  magistrates  for  examination  on  September 
1.  What  he  said  then  we  know  not,  but  from 
his  subsequent  testimony  it  is  evident  that  he 
denied  the  charge  of  witchcraft  in  the  most 
positive  terms.  He  was  sent  to  jail  to  await 
the  action  of  the  grand  jury.  That  body  re¬ 
turned  two  indictments :  or  at  least  that  is  all 
that  are  now  on  file.  One  charged  that 
Samuel  Wardwell  practiced  witchcraft  on  Mar¬ 
tha  Sprague  of  Boxford  on  August  15;  the 
other,  that  he,  about  twenty  years  ago,  with 
the  evill  spiritt,  the  devill,  a  covenant  did  make 
wherein  he  promised  to  honor,  worship  and 
believe  the  devill,  contrary  to  the  statute  of 
King  James  the  First,  etc.^^  On  the  13th  of 

7  Calef  says  because  she  was  pregnant.  (Fowler’s  Ed.,  ‘260.) 
Upham  says  she  made  a  partial  confession,  and  that  Sir  William 
ordered  a  reprieve,  and  after  she  had  been  thirteen  weeks  in 
prison,  he  directed  her  to  be  discharged  on  the  ground  of  insuf¬ 
ficient  evidence.  He  adds  that  this  is  the  only  instance  of  a 
special  pardon  granted  during  the  proceedings.  (Salem  Witch- 
craft,  II.,  332.) 


208  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


September,  Wardwell  made  a  confession  sub¬ 
stantially  as  follows : 

After  returning  several  negative  answers,  he  said  he  was 
conscious  he  was  in  the  snare  of  the  devil.  He  had  been 
much  discontented  that  he  could  get  no  more  work  done  : 
and  that  he  had  been  foolishly  led  along  with  telling  of  for¬ 
tunes  which  some  times  came  to  pass.  He  used  also  when 
any  creature  came  into  his  field  to  hid  the  devil  take  it,  and 
it  may  he  the  devil  took  advantage  of  him  by  that. 

Constable  Foster  of  Andover  said  this  Ward- 
well  told  him  once  in  the  woods  that  when  he 
was  a  young  man  he  could  make  all  his  cattle 
come  round  about  him  when  he  pleased.  The 
said  Wardwell,  being  urged  to  tell  the  truth,  he 
proceeded  thus  : 

“  That  being  once  in  a  discontented  frame  he  saw  some 
cats  with  the  appearance  of  a  man  who  called  himself  the 
prince  of  the  air,  and  promised  him  he  should  live  comfort¬ 
ably  and  be  captain,  and  required  said  Wardwell  to  honor 
him  which  he  promised  to  do,  and  it  was  about  twenty 
years  ago.  He  said  the  reason  of  his  discontent  then 
was  because  he  was  in  love  with  a  maid  named  Barker  who 
slighted  his  love.”  He  added  that  he  covenanted  with  the 
devil  until  he  should  he  sixty  years  and  he  was  now  about 
forty. 

WardwelFs  wife  and  daughter  appeared  to 
testify  against  him,  probably  to  save  their  own 
necks,  which  they  succeeded  in  doing.  He,  how¬ 
ever,  repented  of  the  false  confession  he  had 
made  and  retracted.  The  retraction  cost  him 
his  life.  At  some  subsequent  time  the  daughter 
retracted  her  confession  against  her  father  and 
mother.  Probably  it  was  after  Wardwell  had 


SUSANNA  MARTIN.  MARY  EASTY  AND  OTHERS.  209 

/ 

been  bung.  This  case  of  WardwelPs  is  the  only- 
instance,  so  far  as  we  know,  where  a  husband  and 
wife  accused  each  other.  Cases  of  children  ac¬ 
cusing  parents  and  parents  accusing  children 
were,  as  we  have  seen,  quite  common.  Ward- 
well  was  hanged  with  that  group  of  eight  which 
suffered  on  Thursday,  September  22.  When  he 
stood  on  the  gallows  and  was  speaking  to  the 
people,  a  puff  of  tobacco  smoke  blew  in  his  face 
and  caused  him  to  cough,  whereupon  the  accus¬ 
ers  said  the  devil  hindered  him  with  smoke.® 


8  Calef,  Fowler's  Ed.,  262. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIDD  BUT  NOT  BXBCUTBD. 

g  purpose  in  this  chapter,  briefly  to  sketch 
some  of  the  more  peculiar  and  interesting 
features  connected  with  a  few  trials  of  per¬ 
sons  accused  of  witchcraft  in  1692,  but  not  exe¬ 
cuted,  and  in  several  cases  not  convicted.  The 
case  of  Mary  Perkins  Bradbury  of  Salisbury  is  one 
of  them.  Mrs.  Bradbury  was  the  wife.. of  Thomas 
Bradbury,  and  was  seventy-five  years  of  age. 
Some  of  those  living  near  her  had  spoken  of  her 
as  a  witch  long  previous  to  1692.  In  July  of 
that  year  she  was  examined  and  committed  to 
jail.  Her  trial  took  place  at  the  early  Septem¬ 
ber  session  of  the  court.  Two  indictments 
against  her  have  come  down  to  us.  To  these  in¬ 
dictments  Mary  Bradbury  answered  ;  I  do 
plead  not  guilty.  I  am  wholly  innocent  of  any 
such  wickedness.”  It  is  difficult  to  say  just 
when  Mrs.  Bradbury^s  preliminary  examination 
took  place.  I  find  testimony  against  her  by 
George  Herrick  given  on  May  26.  On  July  28 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIED  BUT  NOT  EXECUTED.  211 

her  husband  testified  that  they  had  lived  togeth¬ 
er  fifty-five  years,  and  that  his  wife  had  eleven 
children  and  four  grand-children.  Her  trial 
before  the  upper  court  occupied  the  whole  or  a 
part  of  three  days.  Testimony  was  given  on 
September  7,  8,  and  9.  Slie  was  convicted  and 
sentenced,  but  for  some  reason  was  not  executed. 
I  presume  it  was  owing  to  her  high  character 
and  the  powerful  influences  brought  to  bear  to 
secure  pardon.  From  the  depositions  on  file  we 
are  enabled  to  gather  something  of  interest  re¬ 
garding  her  life  and  the  complications  of  her 
family  with  that  of  Mrs.  Ann  Putnam.  Mrs. 
Putnam,  wife  of  Thomas  Putnam  of  Salem  Vil¬ 
lage,  was  daughter  of  George  Carr  of  Salisbury. 
The  Carr  and  Bradbury  families  came  into  con¬ 
flict  under  somewhat  peculiar  circumstances, 
and  when  Mrs.  Bradbury  was  brought  to  trial 
most  of  the  Carr  family  appeared  to  testify 
against  her. 

The  story  of  the  trouble  between  the  families 
is,  briefly,  this :  James  Carr  and  William  Brad¬ 
bury,  the  latter,  son  of  Mary  Bradbury,  were 
paying  attention,  or  trying  to,  to  the  widow 
Maverick,  daughter  of  Mr.  Wheelright.  Carr 
deposed  in  1692,  that  about  twenty  years  before, 
he  was  invited  most  courteously  by  the  widow  to 

“  Come  oftener,  and  within  a  few  days  after  one  evening 
I  went  thither  again,  and  when  I  came  thither  again,  Wil¬ 
liam  Bradbury  was  there  who  was  then  a  suitor  to  the  said 


212  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


widow,  but  I  did  not  know  it  till  afterwards.  After  I  came 
in  the  widow  did  so  coursely  treat  the  said  William  Brad¬ 
bury  that  he  went  away  seeming  very  angry.  Presently 
after  this  I  was  taken  after  a  strange  manner  as  if  living 
creatures  did  run  about  every  part  of  my  body  ready  to 
tear  me  to  pieces.  And  so  I  continued  for  about  three 
quarters  of  a  year,  by  times,  and  I  applied  myself  to  Dr. 
Crosby,  who  gave  me  a  great  deal  of  physic  but  could  make 
none  work.  Though  he  steeped  tobacco  in  bosset  drink  he 
could  make  none  to  work,  whereupon  he  told  me  that  he 
believed  I  was  behaged.  And  I  told  him  I  had  thought  so 
a  good  while.  And  he  asked  me  by  whom,  and  I  told  him 
I  did  not  care  for  speaking,  for  one  was  counted  an  honest 
woman,  but  he  urging  me  I  told  him  and  he  said  he  believe 
that  Mrs.  Bradbury  was  a  great  deal  worse  than  Good  Mar¬ 
tin.” 

After  this,  one  night,  something  like  a  cat 
came  to  Carr  in  bed.  He  went  to  strike  it  off 
but  could  not  move  hand  or  foot  for  a  while. 
Finally  he  did  hit  it  and  since  then  physic  had 
worked  on  him. 

Eichard  Carr  testified  that, 

“  About  thirteen  years  ago,  presently  after  some  differ¬ 
ence  had  happened  to  be  between  my  honored  father,  Mr. 
George  Carr,  and  Mrs.  Bradbury,  the  prisoner  at  the  bar,  up¬ 
on  a  Sabbath  at  noon,  as  we  were  riding  home,  by  the  house 
of  Capt.  Thomas  Bradbury,  I  saw  Mrs.  Bradbury  go  into 
her  gate,  turn  the  comer  of,  and  immediately  there  darted 
out  of  herj  gate  a  blue  boar,  and  darted  at  my  father’s 
horse’s  legs,  which  made  him  stumble,  but  I  saw  it  no 
more.  And  my  father  said,  ‘  boys,  what  do  you  see?’  We 
I  oth  answered,  ‘  a  blue  boar.’  ” 

Young  Zerubabel  Endicott,  who  was  present 
on  this  occasion  testified  to  the  same,  and  also 
that  he  saw  the  blue  boar  dart  from  Mr.  Carr’s 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIED  BUT  NOT  EXECUTED.  213 


horse’s  legs  in  at  Mrs.  Bradbury’s  window.” 
William  Carr,  son  of  George,  and  brother  of  Mrs. 
Ann  Putnam,  gave  testimony  in  favor  of  Mrs. 
Bradbury.  He  testified  that  he  was  with  his 
brother  when  he  died,  and  that  he  died  peace¬ 
fully  and  quietly,  never  manifesting  trouble 
about  anybody,  nor  did  he  say  anything  about 
Mrs.  Bradbury  or  any  one  else  doing  him  hurt.” 
Here  is  a  piece  of  testimony  that  illustrates  the 
condition  of  mind  of  the  people  in  1692.  It 
shows  how  everyday  occurrences,  as  we  should 
now  call  them,  were  attributed  to  supernatural 
agencies.  We  may  not  wonder  that  a  rough 
sailor  should  some  times  believe  in  other  than 
human  agencies  as  the  cause  of  unusual  events, 
but  not  only  did  the  rough  sailor  believe  in 
them,  but  the  judges  and  the  highest  officials  in 
the  province  believed  in  them  enough  to  admit 
the  evidence  t(^  convict,  and  to  pass  sentence  of 
death  on  the  strength  of  that  evidence.  The 
testimony  to  which  I  refer  is  that  of  Samuel 
Endicott,  thirty-one  years  of  age.  He  testified  : 

About  eleven  years  ago,  being  bound  upon  a  voyage  to 
sea  with  Capt.  Samuel  Smith,  late  of  Boston,  deceased, 
just  before  we  sailed  Mrs.  Bradbury  of  Salisbury,  the  pris¬ 
oner  now  at  the  bar,  came  to  Boston  with  some  firkins  of 
butter,  of  which  Capt.  Smith  bought  two.  One  of  them 
proved  half-way  butter  and  after  we  had  been  at  sea  three 
weeks  our  men  were  not  able  to  eat  it,  it  stunk  so,  and  run 
with  maggots,  which  made  the  men  very  much  disturbed 
about  it,  and  would  often  say  that  they  heard  Mrs.  Brad¬ 
bury  was  a  witch,  and  that  they  verily  believed  she  was  so, 


214  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


or  else  she  would  not  have  served  the  Capt.  so  as  to  sell 
him  such  butter.  And  further  this  deponent  testifieth, 
that  in  four  days  after  they  set  sail  they  met  with  such  a 
storm  that  we  lost  our  main  mast  and  rigging  and  lost  fif¬ 
teen  horses,  and  that  about  a  fortnight  after,  we  set  our 
Jersey  mast,  and  that  very  night  there  came  up  a  ship  by 
our  side  and  carried  away  two  of  the  mizzen  shrouds  and 
one  of  the  leaches  of  the  main  sail.  And  this  deponent 
further  sayeth  that  after  they  arrived  at  Barbadoes  and 
went  to  Saltitudos  and  had  laden  their  vessel,  the  next 
morning  she  sprang  a  leak  in  the  hold,  which  wasted  sev¬ 
eral  tons  of  salt  insomuch  that  we  were  forced  to  unlade 
our  vessel  again  wholly  to  stop  our  leak.  There  was  then 
four  foot  of  water  in  the  hold.  After  we  had  taken  in  our 
lading  again  we  had  a  good  passage  home,  hut  when  we 
came  near  the  land  the  Capt.  sent  this  deponent  forward  to 
look  out  for  land  in  a  bright  moonshining  night,  and  as  he 
was  sitting  upon  the  windlass  he  heard  a  rumbling  noise 
under  him.  With  that  he,  the  said  deponent,  testifieth  that 
he  looked  on  the  side  of  the  windlass  and  saw  the  legs  of 
some  person,  being  no  ways  frighted,  and  that  presently  he 
was  shook  and  looked  over  his  shoulder  and  saw  the  ap¬ 
pearance  of  a  woman  from  the  middle  upwards,  having  a 
white  cap  and  white  neck  cloth  on  her  which  then  affright¬ 
ed  him  Very  much,  and  as  he  was  turning  of  the  windlass 
he  saw  the  aforesaid  two  legs. 

This  deposition  bears  date  September  9,  1692. 
The  substance  of  the  testimony  used  to  convict 
an  intelligent,  high  minded  woman  of  a  capital 
crime,  is,  that  some  butter  that  she  sold  to  a  sea 
captain,  if  she  did  sell  it  to  him,  became  rancid 
after  the  vessel  got  into  a  hot  climate,  and  that 
the  vessel  sprung  aleak.  On  these  grounds  the 
sailors  concluded  she  was  a  witch.  After  that 
it  was  easy  to  see  her  appearance  or  most  any¬ 
thing  else. 


PHILLIP  ENGLISH  HOUSE. 

[Built,  1685;  taken  down  in  1833.] 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIED  BUT  NOT  EXECUTED.  215 


< 


216  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

The  story  of  the  arrest  and  examination  of 
Phillip  English  and  his  wife  Mary,  if  we  had  all 
the  documents  in  the  case,  would,  no  doubt,  be 
exceedingly  interesting.  The  papers  have  not 
come  down  to  us  save  in  the  most  meagre  form. 
Phillip  English  was  a  wealthy  merchant  of 
Salem,  and,  in  1692,  lived  on  Essex  street,  be¬ 
tween  what  are  now  Webb  and  English  streets. 
He  occupied  one  of  the  finest  mansions  of  the 
town,  and  perhaps  of  the  colony.  English 
owned  fourteen  buildings  in  Salem,  a  wharf  and 
twenty-one  vessels. ^  How  charges  of  witchcraft 
came  to  be  made  against  him  and  his  wife  has 
always  been  a  mystery.  Dr.  Bently  intimates 
that  his  controversies  and  law-suits  with  the 
town,  and  the  superior  style  in  which  the  family 
lived  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  lead¬ 
ing  the  accusing  children  to  name  them.  We  are 
indebted  to  the  same  authority  for  our  informa¬ 
tion  about  the  arrest  of  Mrs.  English.  She  was 
in  bed  when  the  sheriff  came  for  her.  The  ser¬ 
vants  admitted  him  to  her  chamber,  where  he 
read  the  warrant.  Guards  were  then  placed 
around  the  house  until  morning,  when  she  was 
taken  away  for  examination.  It  is  related  that 
the  pious  mother  attended  to  family  devotions 
as  usual  that  morning,  kissed  her  children  good- 
by,  and  calmly  discussed  their  future  in  case  she 
never  returned  to  them.  She  then  told  the  of- 


1  Essex  Inst.  Hist.  Coll.,  I.,  161. 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIED  BUT  NOT  EXECUTED.  217 

ficer  she  was  ready  to  die.*  Mrs.  English  was 
examined  on  April  22,  and  committed  to  jail. 
The  warrant  against  her  husband  was  issued  on 
April  30.  It  was  returned  May  2,  with  the  en¬ 
dorsement  by  the  sheriff,  Mr.  Phillip  English 
not  to  be  found. His  arrest  was  not  effected 
until  May  30.  He  was  then  examined  and  com¬ 
mitted  to  jail  along  with  his  wife.  They  soon 
escaped  from  jail  and  went  to  Hew  York,  where 
they  lived  until  the  storm  had  passed.  They 
then  returned  to  Salem  and  resumed  their  custo¬ 
mary  life. 

The  record  of  the  prosecution  of  the  Hobbs 
family  constitutes  an  interesting  chapter  of 
witchcraft  history.  Abigail,  the  daughter,  was 
the  first  to  be  arrested.  The  warrant  against 
her  was  issued  on  April  18.  It  is  said  she 
was  a  reckless,  vagabond  creature,  wandering 
through  the  woods  at  night  like  a  half  deranged 
person.  The  arrest  of  her  father,  William 
Hobbs,  and  her  mother.  Deliverance  Hobbs,  was 
effected  three  days  later,  mainly  on  the  strength 
of  statements  made  by  the  daughter.  She 
charged  that  both  of  them  were  witches.  Hobbs 
was  about  fifty  years  of  age  and  lived  on  Tops- 
field  territory.  Abigail  was  examined  in  Salem 
prison  on  April  20,  and  stated,  among  other 
things,  that  the  devil  came  to  her  in  the  shape 
of  a  man  and  brought  images  of  the  girls  for 


2Ibd. 


218  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

her  to  stick  pins  into.  She  did  stick  thorns  into 
them  and  they  ‘‘  cried  out.'^  On  May  12,  she 
was  again  examined  in  prison. 

Did  Mr.  Burroughs  bring  you  any  of  the  puppits  of  his 
wives  to  stick  pins  into  ? — I  do  not  remember  that  he  did. 

Have  any  vessels  been  cast  away  by  you?-I  do  not  know. 

She  testified  that  she  stuck  thorns  into  people 
whom  she  did  not  know,  and  one  of  them,  Mary 
Lawrence,  suggested  to  her  mind  by  the  court, 
died. 

Who  brought  the  images  to  you? — It  was  Mr.  Burroughs. 

How  did  he  bring  it  to  you? — In  his  own  person,  bodily. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  statements 
made  in  the  whole  history  of  the  delusion,  .^t 
the  time  Abigail  Hobbs  made  it  she  was  in  jail, 
and  had  been  since  before  the  arrest  of  Bur¬ 
roughs.  Previous  to  her  arrest  he  was  in  Maine, 
eighty  miles  distant.  Yet,  she  declares  that 
Burroughs  came  to  her  in  his  bodily  person, 
bringing  images  of  a  half  dozen  girls  for  her  to 
afflict  by  sticking  thorns  into  them,  and  that 
when  she  pricked  them  thus  the  real  girls  cried 
out  from  pain  and  she  heard  them.  That  there 
might  be  no  mistake  about  this,  seemingly,  the 
magistrate  asked,  speaking  of  another  party, 
whom  she  said  she  had  thus  afflicted,  “  Was  he 
(Burroughs)  there  himself  with  you  in  bodily 
personV^  Her  answer  was  :  "  Yes,  and  so  he 
was  when  he  appeared  to  tempt  me  to  set  my 
hand  to  the  book  ;  he  then  appeared  in  person 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIED  BUT  NOT  EXECUTED.  219 

and  I  felt  his  hand  at  the  same  time.’^  This  last 
statement  is  stronger  than  the  first ;  it  leaves  no 
question  as  to  what  was  meant  by  “  bodily  per¬ 
son.’^  Before  concluding  her  testimony  she  de¬ 
clared  that  she  had  killed  both  boys  and 
girls. Abigail  was  examined  before  the  mag¬ 
istrates  on  June  29.  At  her  trial  in  September, 
the  following  testimony  was  given  : — 

lidia  Nichols  aged  about  7  years  testifieth  and  saith  that 
about  a  yeare  and  a  halfe  agoe  I  asked  abigaill  hobs  how 
she  darst  lie  out  a  nights  in  ye  woods  alon  she  told  me  she 
was  not  a  fraid  of  anything  for  she  told  me  she  had  sold 
herself  body  and  soule  to  ye  old  boy.  and  sins  this  about  a 
fortnight  agoe  ye  said  abigaill  hobs  &  her  mother  came  to 
our  hous  my  father  &  mother  being  not  at  home  she  begane 
to  be  rude  &  to  behave  herself  unseemly  I  told  her  I  wonder 
she  was  not  ashamed  she  hide  me  hold  my  tong  or  elce  she 
would  rays  all  the  folks  thereabouts  &  hid  me  look  there  was 
old  cratten  sate  over  the  bedstead  then  her  mother  told  her 
shee  little  thought  to  ahin  the  mother  of  such  a  dafter. 
Elizabeth  Nichols  aged  about  12  years  testifieth  ye  same 
she  said  at  our  house  about  a  fortnight  agoe 

When  William  Hobbs  and  his  wife  came  be¬ 
fore  the  magistrates  they  were  confronted  with 
the  confession  of  their  daughter,  in  which  she 
had  charged  them  with  being  witches.  They 
were  astounded.  Mrs.  Hobbs  said  she  regretted 
that  she  ever  brought  into  the  world  such  a 
child.  She  indignantly  denied  being  a  witch,  at 
first.  Finally,  after  long  questioning,  a  confes¬ 
sion  was  secured  from  her,  in  which  she  charged 
her  husband  and  young  child  with  witchcraft. 
The  paper  containing  the  record  of  the  examina- 


220  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE, 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIED  BUT  NOT  EXECUTED.  221 

tion  of  William  Hobbs  has  suffered  mutilation  by 
reason  of  much  handling  and  neglect  in  years 
past.  Enough  remains,  however,  to  show  that 
he  stood  immovable  amid  the  storm  of  supersti¬ 
tion  that  beat  around  him.  He  protested  his 
innocence  to  the  end. 

What  say  you,  asked  Hathorne,  are  you  guilty?— lean 
speak  in  the  presence  of  God  supremely,  he  answered,  as  I 
must  look  to  give  account  another  day  that  I  am  as  clear  as 
a  new  horn  babe. 

Clear  of  what  ? — Of  witchcraft. 

Have  you  never  hurt  these? — No. 

He  is  going  to  Mercy  Lewis,  said  Abigail  Williams,  and 
Lewis  fell  in  a  fit.  He  is  coming  to  Mary  Walcott,  was 
Williams  next  cry,  and  Walcott  had  a  fit. 

**  How  can  you  be  clear  when  your  appearance 
is  thus  seen  producing  such  effect  before  our 
eyes?’’  queried  the  court.  He  was  reminded  of 
his  wife’s  confession  but  that  failed  to  move 
him.  The  examination  was  continued  some 
time,  interspersed  with  halloos,  shrieks  and  wild 
out-cries  from  the  accusing  girls.  Then  Hathorne 
asked,  Can  you  now  deny  it?” — I  can,”  was 
the  answer,  deny  it  to  my  dying  day.”  After 
further  efforts  to  make  him  confess,  and  con¬ 
tinued  refusals,  Hobbs  was  sent  to  jail.  He 
remained  there  until  the  middle  of  December 
when  John  Nichols  and  Joseph  Towne  bailed 
him.  He  failed  to  appear  at  the  January  term 
and  was  defaulted,  but  at  the  May  term  he  ans¬ 
wered  to  the  summons,  and  the  default  was 


222  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

taken  off.  In  the  Governor’s  proclamation  free¬ 
ing  all  the  accused,  Hobbs  was  included  and 
went  at  liberty.  Abigail  Hobbs  was  convicted 
in  the  higher  court  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged, 
but  the  sentence  was  never  executed.  Deliver¬ 
ance  Hobbs  lay  in  jail  a  long  time.  She  does 
not  appear  ever  to  have  been  tried,  and  it  is  cer¬ 
tain  that  she  was  not  executed. 

Dorcas  Hoar  of  Beverly,  a  widow,  was  arrested 
on  a  warrant  issued  April  30,  and  examined  at 
Lieut.  Ingersoll’s  on  May  2.  Elizabeth  Hubbard 
complained  that  the  prisoner  pinched  her,  show¬ 
ing  the  marks  to  the  standers-by.  The  marshal 
said  she  pinched  her  fingers  at  the  same  time. 

Dorcas  Hoar,”  demanded  the  magistrate, 

why  do  you  hurt  these?” — I  never  hurt  a 
child  in  my  life,”  was  the  response.  Not  satis¬ 
fied  with  this  the  accusers  told  her  she  killed 
her  husband,  and  charged  her  with  various  other 
crimes.  They  said  they  saw  the  black  man 
whispering  in  her  ear.”  These  calumnies  were 
too  much  for  her  to  endure  in  silence,  and  she 
cried  back  to  them  indignantly,  Oh,  you  are 
liars,  and  God  will  stop  the  mouths  of  liars.” 

You  are  not  to  speak  after  this  manner  in  the 
court,”  chided  Hathorne.  I  will  speak  the 
truth  as  long  as  I  live,  was  the  brave  and  de¬ 
fiant  reply.  She  was  committed  for  trial,  and 
subsequently  convicted  and  sentenced.  Not¬ 
withstanding  her  courageous  words,  Dorcas 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIED  BUT  NOT  EXECUTED.  223 

Hoar  was  brought  to  a  confession.  Judge  Sew- 
all,  under  date  of  Sept.  21,  says  : 

“  A  petition  is  sent  to  town  in  behalf  of  Dorcas  Hoar 
who  now  confesses.  Accordingly  an  order  is  sent  to  the 
sheriff  to  forbear  her  execution  notwithstanding  her  being 
in  the  warrant  to  die  tomorrow.  This  is  the  first  condemned 
person  who  has  confessed. ”3 

During  the  trial  of  Dorcas,  Abigail  Williams 
declared  that  she  saw  the  appearance  of  this 
woman  before  ever  she  saw  Tituba  Indian  or  any 
one  else.  This,  if  true,  would  make  Dorcas  Hoar 
the  first  of  the  witches  of  1692.  She  escaped 
from  jail  in  the  same  mysterious  manner  that 
so  many  other  of  the  accused  did.  These  es¬ 
capes  were  numerous  during  the  witchcraft 
trials.  Whether  the  jails  were  weakly  con¬ 
structed,  or  the  jailers  did  not  guard  the  prison¬ 
ers  closely  at  all  times,  it  is  not  possible  to  say. 
It  is  possible  that  high  officials  some  times  con¬ 
nived  at  the  escape  of  accused  persons.  Most 
of  these  escapes  were  from  the  Boston  jail, 
which  would  naturally  be  as  strong  as  any.**  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Ipswich  jail  was  a  very 
primitive  structure  and  escape  from  it  must  have 
been  easy,  yet  no  one,  accused  of  witchcraft,  ever 
escaped  from  it. 

The  case  of  Nehemiah  Abbott  is  of  interest, 

SSewall  Papers,  I.,  365. 

4  Phillip  English  and  wife  were  allowed  the  freedom  of  the 
town  under  bonds,  being  required  only  to  sleep  in  jail.  Essex 
Inst.  Hist.  Col.,  I.,  161. 


224  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE, 

s 

because,  so  far  as  known,  he  is  the  only  person 
who  was  released  after  refusing  to  confess. 
Abbott  was  arrested  at  the  same  time  as  William 
Hobbs,  April  21.  He  was  examined  on  the  fol¬ 
lowing  day.  At  first  all  the  accusing  girls  said 
he  had  afflicted  them,  and  fell  into  fits.  Ann 
Putnam  saw  him  on  the  beam.’’  Others  iden¬ 
tified  him  as  one  who  had  appeared  to  them. 
Asked  to  confess  and  find  mercy,  he  replied, 
speak  before  God  that  I  am  clear  in  all  re¬ 
spects.”  The  girls  were  all  struck  dumb  ” 
again.  Suddenly  Mercy  Lewis  said  :  It  is  not 
the  man.”  Other  accusers  wavered.  Ann  Put¬ 
nam  said  that  the  reason  she  had  declared  Ab¬ 
bott  to  be  the  man  was  because  the  devil  put  a 
mist  before  her  eyes.  The  case  completely 
broke  down  and  Abbott  was  released.  One 
question  suggests  itself  very  forcibly  in  this 
connection  :  If  Abbott  was  not  the  man  who 
afflicted  these  girls  at  the  time,  why  did  they 
fall  down  when  he  had  looked  on  them?  and  why 
did  they  have  fits  in  the  court  room?  Parris  in 
his  account  of  the  trial  says,  when  Abbott  was 

“  Brought  in  again,  by  reason  of  much  people,  and  many 
in  the  windows,  so  that  the  accusers  could  not  have  a  clear 
view  of  him,  he  was  ordered  to  be  abroad  and  the  accusers 
to  go  forth  to  him  and  view  him  in  the  light,  which  they 
did  in  the  presence  of  the  magistrates  and  many  others, 
discoursed  quietly  with  him,  one  and  all  acquitting  him, 
but  yet  said  he  was  like  the  man,  but  he  had  not  the  wen 
they  saw  in  his  apparition.  Note,  he  was  a  hilly  faced  man, 
and  stood  shaded  by  reason  of  his  own  hair,  so  that  for  a 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIED  BUT  NOT  EXECUTED.  225 

time  he  seemed  to  some  bystanders  and  observers  to  be  con¬ 
siderably  like  the  person  the  afflicted  did  describe.” 

Mary  Warren  was,  as  I  have  mentioned  in 
preceding  pages,  one  of  the  early  and  persistent 
accusers.  She  was  twenty  years  of  age  and  a 
servant  in  the  family  of  John  Procter.  She 
gave  testimony  against  some  of  those  first 
charged,  but  afterwards  became  skeptical  and 
began  to  talk  about  the  deceptions  of  the  af¬ 
flicted,  and  said  they  “  did  but  dissemble.^^  The 
other  accusing  girls  then  cried  out  against  her, 
and  she  spoke  still  more  emphatically  against 
the  prosecutions.  A  warrant  for  her  arrest 
was  procured  on  April  18,  and  she  was  examined 
the  following  day.  Parris  kept  the  official 
record  of  that  examination.  He  says,  when  she 
was  coming  towards  the  bar,  the  afflicted  fell 
into  fits.  The  magistrates  told  her  she  was 
charged  with  witchcraft  and  asked:  ‘‘Are  you 
guilty  or  not?’^  To  this  she  replied :  “  I  am 
innocent.’^  When  the  afflicted  were  asked  if  she 
had  hurt  them,  some  were  dumb,  and  Hubbard 
“  testified  against  her.’’  All  the  afflicted  soon 
had  fits.  Then  Mary  Warren  fell  into  a  fit,  and 
some  cried  out  that  she  was  going  to  confess, 
“but,”  continues  the  report,  “  Goody  Corey  and 
Procter  and  his  wife  came  in  in  their  appari¬ 
tions,  and  struck  her  down,  and  said  she  should 
tell  nothing.”  Then  followed  one  of  the  most 
dramatic  scenes  in  the  whole  witchcraft  history. 


226  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


The  official  record  of  the  examination  says  : — ® 

After  continuing  in  a  fit  some  time  she  said,  I  will  speak, 
Oh,  I  am  sorry  for  it,  I  am  sorry  for  it.  Wringing  her  hands 
she  fell  into  another  fit.  Then  attempting  a  little  later  to 
speak  her  teeth  were  set.  She  fell  into  another  fit  and 
shouted,  O  Lord  help  me.  O  good  Lord,  save  me.  And 
then  afterwards  cried  again,  I  will  tell,  I  will  tell,  and  then 
fell  into  a  dead  fit  again. 

And  afterwards  cried  I  will  tell,  I  will  tell,  they  did, 
they  did,  they  did,  and  then  fell  into  a  violent  fit  again. 

After  a  little  recovery,  she  cried,  I  will  tell,  I  will  tell. 
They  brought  me  to  it.  And  then  fell  into  a  fit  again, 
which  fits  continuing,  she  was  ordered  to  he  led  out,  and 
the  next  to  be  brought  in,  viz.,  Bridget  Bishop. 

She  was  called  in  again,  hut  immediately  taken  with  fits. 

Have  you  signed  the  devil’s  hook  ? — No. 

Then  she  fell  into  fits  again,  and  was  sent  forth  for  air. 
After  a  considerable  space  of  time  she  was  brought  in 
again,  but  could  not  give  account  of  things  by  reason  of  fits 
and  so  sent  forth. 

Mary  Warren  was  called  in  afterwards  in  private  before 
magistrates  and  ministers.  She  said  I  shall  not  speak  a 
word,  but  I  will,  I  will  speak,  Satan.  She  saith  she  will  kill 
me.  Oh,  she  saith  she  owes  me  a  spite,  and  will  claw  me  off. 
Avoid  Satan,  for  the  name  of  God,  avoid.  And  then  fell 
into  fits  again,  and  cried.  Will  ye  ?  I  will  prevent  ye  in  the 
name  of  God. 

It  will  be  understood  that  Mary  Warren,  all 
this  time,  was  struggling  to  confess  and  the 
devil  sought  to  prevent  her.  At  least,  that  is 
what  she  was  pretending.  Whether  it  was  a 
piece  of  the  most  perfect  acting,  we  do  not 
know.  Yet  we  do  know  now  that  there  was  no 
reality  about  the  witchcraft  pretensions  from  be- 


6  Essex  Court  Papers. 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIED  BUT  NOT  EXECUTED.  227 

gianing  to  end.  Mr.  Parris  notes  that  not  one  of 
the  sufferers  was  afflicted  during  her  examina¬ 
tion  after  she  began  to  confess.  Is  it  possible 
that  the  whole  performance  with  Mary  Warren 
was  a  part  of  a  conspiracy  between  her  and 
the  other  accusing  girls  and  the  older  prosecu¬ 
tors?  It  is  possible,  but  hardly  probable.  She 
made  a  second  and  circumstantial  confession,  in 
which  she  turned  state’s  evidence,  so  to  speak, 
and  told  all  she  had  seen  and  heard.  She  was 
immediately  released  and  returned  to  her  for¬ 
mer  occupation  of  testifying  against  persons  ac¬ 
cused  of  witchcraft.  The  impression  which  her 
case  made  on  the  credulous  people  of  Salem  was 
to  convince  them  that  there  was  no  fraud  about 
the  witchcraft  accusations  and  prosecutions 
when  members  of  the  accusing  circle  were  “  cried 
out  against  ”  by  one  of  their  companions,  and 
that  if  she  could  tear  herself  from  the  devil’s 
snare,  the  others  could  do  the  same  if  so  dis¬ 
posed. 

Jonathan  Carey,  whose  wife  was  charged  with 
witchcraft,  has  left  a  circumstantial  account  of 
his  wife’s  examination  before  the  magistrates. 
It  gives  a  clear  idea  of  the  mode  of  procedure, 
which  did  not  differ  in  this  case  from  that  fol¬ 
lowed  in  others.  Capt.  Carey  was  an  old  ship¬ 
master,  and  a  man  whose  word  was  not  to  be 
doubted.  He  says : — 

May  24.  I  having  heard  some  days,  that  my  wife  was 


228  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


accused  of  witchcraft ;  being  much  disturbed  at  it,  by  ad¬ 
vice  went  to  Salem  Village,  to  see  if  the  afidicted  knew  her. 
We  arrived  there  on  the  24th  of  May.  It  happened  to  be  a 
day  appointed  for  examination,  accordingly,  soon  after  our 
arrival,  Mr.  Hathorne  and  Mr.  Corwin,  &c.,  went  to  the 
meeting-house,  which  was  the  place  appointed  for  that 
work.  The  minister  began  with  prayer ;  and,  having  taken 
care  to  get  a  convenient  place,  I  observed  that  the  afflicted 
were  two  girls  of  about  ten  years  old,  and  about  two  or 
three  others  of  about  eighteen.  One  of  the  girls  talked 
most,  and  could  discern  more  than  the  rest.  The  prisoners 
were  called  in  one  by  one,  and,  as  they  came  in,  were 
cried  out  at,  &c.  The  prisoners  were  placed  about  seven  or 
eight  feet  from  the  justices  and  the  accusers  were  between 
the  justices  and  them.  The  prisoners  were  ordered  to 
stand  right  before  the  justices,  with  an  offlcer  appointed  to 
hold  each  hand,  lest  they  should  therewith  afflict  them. 
And  the  prisoner’s  eyes  must  be  constantly  on  the  justices, 
for,  if  they  looked  on  the  afflicted,  they  would  either  fall 
into  fits,  or  cry  out  of  being  hurt  by  them.  After  an  exam¬ 
ination  of  the  prisoners,  who  it  was  afflicted  these  girls,  and 
c.,  they  were  put  upon  saying  the  Lord’s  prayer,  as  a  trial 
of  their  guilt.  After  the  afflicted  seemed  to  be  out  of  their 
fits,  they  would  look  steadfastly  on  some  one  person,  and 
frequently  not  speak,  and  then  the  justices  said  they  were 
struck  dumb,  and  after  a  little  time  would  speak  again. 
Then  the  justices  said  to  the  accusers,  “  Which  of  you  will 
go  and  touch  the  prisoner  at  the  bar?”  Then  the  most 
courageous  would  adventure,  but,  before  they  had  made 
three  steps,  would  ordinarily  fall  down  as  in  a  fit.  The 
justices  ordered  that  they  should  be  taken  up  and  carried 
to  the  prisoner,  that  she  might  touch  them,  and  as  soon  as 
they  were  touched  by  the  accused,  the  justices  would  say: 
”  They  are  well,”  before  I  could  discern  any  alteration, — by 
which  I  observed  that  the  justices  understood  the  manner 
of  it.  Thus  far  I  was  only  as  a  spectator.  My  wife  also 
was  there  part  of  the  time,  but  no  notice  was  taken  of  her 
by  the  afflicted,  except  once  or  twice  they  came  to  her  and 
asked  her  name. 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIED  BUT  NOT  EXECUTED.  229 


But  I,  having  an  opportunity  to  discourse  Mr.  Hale  with 
whom  I  had  formerly  acquaintance,  I  took  his  advice  what 
I  had  best  do,  and  desired  of  him  that  I  have  an  opportu¬ 
nity  to  speak  with  her  that  accused  my  wife;  which  he 
promised  should  he,  I  acquainting  him  that  I  reposed  my 
trust  in  him.  Accordingly  he  came  to  me  after  the  exam¬ 
ination  was  over,  and  told  me  I  had  now  an  opportunity  to 
speak  with  the  said  accuser,  Abigail  Williams,  a  girl  eleven 
or  twelve  years  old,  but  that  we  could  not  be  in  private  at 
Mr.  Parris’s  house,  as  he  had  promised  me ;  we  went  there¬ 
fore  into  the  ale-house,  where  an  Indian  man  attended  us, 
who,  it  seems,  was  one  of  the  afflicted ;  to  him  we  gave 
some  cider;  he  showed  several  scars,  that  seemed  as  if  they 
had  been  long  there,  and  showed  them  as  done  by  witch¬ 
craft,  and  acquainted  us  that  his  wife,  who  also  was  a  slave, 
was  in  prison  for  witchcraft.  And  now,  instead  of  one  ac¬ 
cuser,  they  ail  came  in,  and  began  to  tumble  down  like 
swine;  and  then  all  three  women  were  called  in  to  attend 
them.  We  in  the  room  were  all  at  a  stand  to  see  who  they 
would  cry  out  of;  but  in  a  short  time  they  cried  out, 
“  Carey;”  and  immediately  after,  a  warrant  was  sent  from 
the  justices  to  bring  my  vdfe  before  them,  who  was  sitting 
in  a  chamber  near  by,  waiting  for  this.  Being  brought  be¬ 
fore  the  justices,  her  chief  accusers  were  two  girls.  My 
wife  declared  to  the  justices,  that  she  never  had  any  knowl¬ 
edge  of  them  before  that  day.  She  was  forced  to  stand 
with  her  arms  stretched  out.  I  requested  that  I  might  hold 
one  of  her  hands,  but  it  was  denied  me.  Then  she  desired 
me  to  wipe  the  tears  from  her  eyes,  and  the  sweat  from  her 
face,  which  I  did;  then  she  desired  she  might  lean  herself 
on  me,  saying  she  should  faint.  Justice  Hathorne  replied 
she  had  strength  enough  to  torment  these  persons,  and  she 
should  have  strength  to  stand.  I  speaking  something 
against  their  cruel  proceedings,  they  commanded  me  to  he 
silent,  or  else  I  should  he  turned  out  of  the  room.  The 
Indian  before  mentioned  was  also  brought  in,  to  be  one  of 
her  accusers,  being  come  in,  he  now  (when  before  the  jus¬ 
tices)  fell  down,  and  tumbled  about  like  a  hog,  but  said 
nothing.  The  justices  asked  the  girls  who  afflicted  the  In- 


230  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


dian:  they  answered,  she  (meaning  my  wife),  and  that  she 
now  lay  upon  him.  The  justices  ordered  her  to  touch  him, 
in  order  to  his  cure,  hut  her  head  must  he  turned  another 
way,  lest,  instead  of  curing,  she  should  make  him  worse  by 
her  looking  at  him,  her  hand  being  guided  to  take  hold  of 
his,  hut  the  Indian  took  hold  of  her  hand  and  pulled  her 
down  on  the  floor  in  a  barberous  manner ;  then  his  hand  was 
taken  off,  and  her  hand  put  on  his,  and  the  cure  was  quick¬ 
ly  wrought. 

Capt.  Carey  said  he  had  difficulty  to  get  a  bed 
for  his  wife  that  night.  She  was  committed  to 
jail  in  Boston,  and  subsequently  removed  to 
Cambridge.  “  Having  been  there  one  night, 
next  night  the  jailer  put  irons  on  her  legs  ;  the 
weight  was  about  eight  pounds.’’  These  irons 
and  other  affiictions  threw  her  into  convulsions, 
and  he  tried  to  have  the  irons  taken  off,  but  in 
vain.  When  the  trials  came  on  Carey  went  to 
Salem  to  see  how  they  were  conducted.  Binding 
that  spectral  testimony  and  idle  gossip  were  ad¬ 
mitted  as  evidence,  he  told  his  wife  she  had 
nothing  to  hope  for  there.  He  procured  her  es¬ 
cape  from  jail  and  they  went  to  Hew  York, 
where  Gov.  Fletcher  befriended  them. 

John  Alden,  sen.,  of  Boston,  also  wrote  an 
account  of  how  accused  people  were  treated. 
Alden  was  son  of  the  famous  John  Alden,  one 
'  of  the  founders  of  the  Plymouth  colony.  He 
had  resided  in  Boston  thirty  years,  was  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  ' the  church  there,  and  had  commanded  an 
armed  vessel  belonging  to  the  colony.  He  was 
seventy  years  of  age  and  quite  wealthy.  Alden 


► 


WITCH  PINS,  SALEM  COURT  HOUSE, 


<■ 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIED  BUT  NOT  EXECUTED.  231 

was  sent  for  on  May  28,  and  went  to  Salem  Vil¬ 
lage  on  the  31st.  G-edney,  Hathorne  and  Cor¬ 
win  sat  at  his  examination.  It  differed  but  lit¬ 
tle  from  that  described  by  Capt.  Carey.  It  was 
some  time  before  the  accusing  girls  learned  who 
Alden  was,  and  in  the  mean  time  they  pointed 
to  others  as  their  tormentors.  Finally  they  saw 
Alden  and  cried  out  against  him.  They  were 
all  ordered  to  go  down  into  the  street,  says 
Alden,  where  a  ring  was  made  and  the  same  ac¬ 
cuser  cried  out,  “there  stands  Alden,  a  bold  fel¬ 
low,  with  his  hat  on  before  the  judges,  he  sells 
powder  and  shot  to  the  Indians  and  French,  and 
lies  with  the  Indian  squaws,  and  has  Indian 
papooses.”  “Then  was  Alden  committed  to  the 
marshal’s  custody,  and  his  sword  taken  from 
him.”  The  magistrates  “  bid  Alden  look  upon 
the  accusers,  which  he  did  and  they  fell  down. 
Alden  asked  Mr.  Gedney  what  reason  there 
could  be  given  why  Alden's  looking  on  him  did 
not  strike  him  down  as  well,  but  no  reason  was 
given.”  Alden  was  sent  to  jail,  but  he  too  saw 
no  hope  if  brought  to  trial  before  the  court  as 
constituted,  and  made  his  escape. 

Rebecca  Fames,  wife  of  Robert  Fames,  on  the 
day  Mr.  Burroughs  and  his  companion  martyrs 
were  hung,  was  a  spectator  of  the  scene  at  a 
house  near  Gallows  hill.  While  in  this  house 
the  woman  whose  guest  she  was  felt  a  pin  stuck 
in  her  foot.  She  immediately  accused  Rebecca 


232  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


Eames  of  bewitching  her,  she  not  being  as 
good  as  she  might  have  been.”  Good  wife  Eames 
was  immediately  arrested,  and  was  examined 
before  the  magistrates  in  Salem  on  August  19. 
Confessing  herself  a  witch, 

“  She  owned  she  had  bin  in  ye  snare  a  month  or  2  &  had 
bin  perswaded  to  it :  3  months :  &  that  ye  devil  apeared  to 
her  like  a  Colt  very  ugly:  ye  first  time:  but  she  would  not 
own  yt  she  had  bin  baptized  by  him  she  did  not  known  hut 
yt  ye  devil  did  persuade  her  to  renounce  god  &  Christ  &  fol¬ 
low  his  wicked  ways 

She  was  committed  to  jail,  tried  the  following 
month,  convicted,  and  on  the  17th,  sentenced  to 
be  hanged.  The  sentence  was  never  executed, 
but  she  remained  in  jail  until  the  following 
March  when  she  was  reprieved.  Her  husband 
died  on  July  22,  1693,  and  she  in  1721  at  the 
age  of  82.® 

Sarah  Buckley  and  Mary  Whittredge,  her 
daughter,  were  brought  before  the  examining 
magistrates  May  18,  on  warrants  issued  May  14. 
The  accusing  girls  testified  against  Mrs.  Buckley 
substantially  as  they  had  at  the  trials  of  other 
accused  persons.  Susan  Sheldon  declared  that 
she  saw  the  black  man  whispering  in  her  ear.” 
She  was  committed  to  prison,  where  she  re¬ 
mained  until  January,  1693,  being  heavily  ironed 
all  the  time.  William  Hubbard  ‘^the  venerable 

6  The  records  of  the  Court  of  General  Sessions  of  Jan.  18, 
1692,  show  that  Zerubabel  Endicott  was  arraigned  on  charge  of 
adultery  with  Rebecca  Eames  and  bound  over  in  the  sum  of 
£200. 


ACCUSED  AND  TRIED  BUT  NOT  EXECUTED.  233 

minister  of  Ipswich/^  on  June  20,  1692,  certi¬ 
fied  to  her  high  character.  He  had 

“  Known  her  for  above  fifty  years,  and  during  all  that 
time,  I  never  knew  nor  heard  of  any  evil  in  her  carriage,  or 
conversation  unbecoming  a  Christian :  likewise  she  was  bred 
up  by  Christian  parents  all  the  time  she  lived  here  in  Ips¬ 
wich.”  He  was  “  strangely  surprised  that  any  person 
should  speak  or  think  of  her  as  one  worthy  to  be  suspected 
of  any  such  crime.” 

Rev.  John  Higginson,  who  had  been  a  minis¬ 
ter  of  the  gospel  for  fifty-five  years  and  jiastor 
of  the  First  Church  in  Salem  for  a  third  of  a 
century,  and  Rev.  Samuel  Cheever,  bore  equally 
strong  testimony  to  the  high  character  of  Sarah 
Buckley.  The  woman  was  probably  ironed  dur¬ 
ing  her  confinement  in  jail  because  of  statements 
of  Mary  Walcott.  Benjamin  Hutchinson,  on 
July  15,  deposed  that  his  wife  being  taken  with 
great  pain  he  went  for  Mary  Walcott  to  come 
and  look  to  see  if  she  could  see  any  body  upon 
her ;  and  as  soon  as  she  came  into  the  house  she 
said  Sarah  Buckley  and  Mary  Whitridge  were 
upon  his  wife.^’  These  women,  be  it  remem¬ 
bered,  were  already  in  jail.  Hutchinson  sent  to 
the  sheriff,  desiring  him  “to  take  some  course 
with  those  women  that  they  might  not  have 
such  power  to  torment.’^  The  sheriff  ordered 
them  to  be  fettered,  and  “  ever  since  that 
Hutchinson^s  wife  had  been  “  tolerably  well.’^ 
Sarah  Buckley  and  Mary  Whitridge  were  tried 
in  January,  1693,  and  acquitted.  They  were 


234 


WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


poor  people,  and  the  costs  of  court,  the  expense 
of  living  in  jail  and  the  jailer’s  fee  of  £10,  fair¬ 
ly  impoverished  them.  It  is  difficult  for  us  to 
realize  the  state  of  a  community  where  persons 
accused  of  a  terrible  crime,  kept  heavily  ironed 
for  many  months  in  a  vile  prison,  tried  for  their 
lives,  and  finally  acquitted,  were  compelled  to 
pay  all  the  costs  and  fees  before  being  liberated. 

There  were  many  other  persons  tried  or  ac¬ 
cused,  and  still  others  suspected,  besides  those 
individually  mentioned  in  the  preceding  pages, 
but  the  particulars  already  given  will  suffice  to 
indicate  how  all  were  treated.  The  course  pur¬ 
sued  by  magistrates  and  courts  differed  only  in 
minor  details. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


A  RMVI^^W. 


reviewing  the  story  presented  in  the  pre- 
ceding  pages  I  confess  to  a  measure  of 
doubt  as  to  the  moving“causes  in  this  ter¬ 
rible  tra^ed^"^t^ee^ms'  impossible  to  Mieve 
a  tithe  of  the  statements_which  were  made  at 
tf^trials.  ^nd  yet  it  is  equally  difficult  to_say 
thai  nine^out  of  every  ten  of  the  men,  women 


aM  children  who^bestified  upon  their  oaths, 
intentionally  and  wilfully  falsified.  Nor  does  it 
seem 'possible  that  they  did,  or  could,  invent  all 
these  marvelous  tales  ;  fictions  rivalling  the  im¬ 
aginative  genius  of  Haggard  or  Jules  Verne. 
Nevertheless,  we  kn(?w  that,  the  greater  portion 
of  their  depositions  were  without  foundation  in 
fact.^l3h.ny  of  them  we  may  attribute  to,  the 
wild  fancyings  of  minds  disordered  by  the_ex- 
cited  state  of  the  community.  Others  cannot 
'be  thus  explained  satisfactorily.  In  order  to' 
form  a  correct  judgment  of  the  acts" and  words 
of  these  people,  we  must  ^rst  put  ourselves  .in 
the  place  of  the  men  and  women  of  1692.  The 


236  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

believed  in  witchcraft  ;  that  there  was  such  a 
no  one  doubted.  '  As  we  have  seen,  the 
wisest  juftsTs,^  as  well  as  Si  the  ministers, 
bSiev¥d~lTr~tES~ existence  of  witches.  Books 
were^written  upbDrthe"sub3"ect,  as  upon  insanity 
and  kindred  topics.  People  had  been  arrested 
and  executed  for  the  alleged  crime  in  all  Chris- 
tian  countries.  Por  nearly  half  a  century  pre¬ 
vious  to  1692,  prosecutions  were  made  for 
witchcraft  in  New  England.  Men  like  Gov. 
Endicott,  Gov.  Winthrop,  and  even  the  liberal- 
minded  Bradstreet,  had  passed  sentence  upon  its 
unfortunate  victims.  Shall  we,  then,  wonder 
that  the  people  of  Salem  Village  attributed  to 
the  demon  witchcraft  the  strange  performances 
of  Abigail  Williams,  Elizabeth  Parris,  Ann  Put¬ 
nam  and  their  associates,  in  1692  and  1693  ? 
Bather  shall  we  not  record  our  admiration  that 
then  and  there  the  belief  in  spectral  evidence, 
and,  necessarily  witchcraft,  received  its  death 
blow.  The  refusal  of  the  Essex  jury  to  convict 
in  January,  1693,  was  the  beginning  of  the  end, 
not  only  in  Salem  but  in  the  world.  Some 
characters  were  exhibited  during  the  dark  period 
that  command  our  profoundest  respect.  Heroic 
Joseph  Putnam  always  denounced  the  course 
being  pursued  and  kept  his  horse  saddled  for 
some  weeks  in  anticipation  of  a  call  from  the 
constable  and  with  the  full  determination  to  es¬ 
cape. 


A  REVIEW. 


237 


That  Mr.  Parris  was  sincere  in  the  belief  that 
these  children  were  bewitched,  I  see  no  reason 
to  doubt.  That  he  “  fanned  the  flame  ’’  and  en¬ 
couraged  the  prosecutions  for  the  purpose  of 
wreaking  vengeance  ’’  on  his  opponents  in 
church  affairs,  as  is  often  asserted,  is  doubtful. 
That  he  should  be  more  ready  to  believe  one  of 
his  opponents  guilty  than  one  of  his  friends  and 


JOSEPH  PUTNAM  HOUSE,  DANVERS. 


supporters,  is  quite  natural,  although  we  may 
look  in  vain  for  any  positive  evidence  of  even 
this.  Families  that  supported  him  did  not 
always  escape  prosecution,  while  others,  not  of 
the  ministerial  faction,  were  numbered  among 
the  most  active  accusers.  Every  neighborhood 
disagreement  that  court  record  or  tradition  has 


hajidetbclown  to  us/has  been  enlarged  upon  and 
embellished  by  different  writers  to  prove  that 
persons  were  accused  of  witchcraft  because  of 


238  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


some  differences  of  opinion  or  some  petty  suit- 
at-law.  And  yet  we  frequently  find  these  same 
people  uniting  in  a  complaint  for  witchcraft,  as 
in  the  case  of  Sarah  Good,  where  the  complain¬ 
ants  were  Thomas  Preston,  son-in-law  of  Rebecca 
Nurse,  and  Thomas  and  Edward  Putnam.  That 
Parris  should  take  an  active  part  in  the  affair 
was  natural,  seeing  he  was  the  minister  of  the 
parish.  Is  it  matter  of  wonder  that  he  should 
attend  the  trials  and  ask  questions  ?  He  was 
probably  as  familiar  with  the  facts  as  any  one 
who  could  be  present.  He  was  frequently  re¬ 
porter  of  the  evidence,  appointed  by  the  court 
because  he  wrote  in  characters  and  could  make 
minutes  faster  than  most  others.  It  is  true  that 
after  the  storm  had  past  Parris  had  renewed  dis¬ 
agreements  with  the  church.  But  it  was  really 
a  continuation  of  the  old  feud  that  had  merely 
slumbered  for  a  year,  together  with  the  added 
feelings  engendered  by  the  occurrences  of  that 
period.  Naturally  the  activity  of  Mr.  Parris  in 
the  prosecutions  rendered  him  obnoxious  to  the 
surviving  relatives  of  those  whose  lives  were 
taken.  All  this,  however,  would  be  consistent 
with  his  sincerity.  No  one  now  questions^  bu^^ 
that  the  whole  unfortunate  affair,  judged  from 
our"  stand-point,  was  an  error  of  the  .gravest 
naturA*  But  judgecj^from  the  vantage  ground  of 
l‘692‘,3ffe^fst  error  was  in  the  conviction  of  ^ 
persons  on  purey  spectral  evidence,  for  which 


A  REVIEW. 


239 


T>oiL  Parris^  were  responsible.  The  '' 
second  was  made  by  the  judges  when  they  failed 
lo  penetrate  the  veil  of  improbability  which 
rou( 


fEe  testimony  of  many  witnesses,  and 
to  see  that  much  of  this  testimony  wE,s  eTther  _ 
falsehood  or  delusion.  The  judges,  as  we 
have  seen,  followed  very  closely  the  precedents 
of  the  ablest  English  jurists.  All  those  engaged 
in  the  prosecutions  appear  to  have  learned  a  les¬ 
son  by  their  experience.  Parris  himself  subse¬ 
quently  said  that,  ^^were  the  same  troubles 
again  he  should  not  agree  with  his  former  appre¬ 
hension.’^^  Granting  that  he  even  took  up  the 
witchcraft  cry  too  hastily  in  the  beginning, 
where  is  the  evidence  that  he  did  it  to  wreak 
vengeance  ”  on  any  who  had  opposed  his  minis¬ 
try?  I  mean  not  to  defend  Parris.  Undoubted¬ 
ly  he  was  hasty.  More  care,  a  cooler  head,^ 
better  judgment,  might  have  prevented  the  i 
witchcraft  tragedy.  The  delusion  would  have^ 
een  ended  almost  before  it  was  begun  liad^he 
tricks  of  those  girIsn5emrexpose°dr~T^arrTsl>.ouId. 
hWe  done  this  hafTW not  been  hliufied  by  the 
infatuation  of  his  belief  in  witchcraft.  But  that 

^  i— — ■  -  ~  I  ^  •  ~  ~  ■  I  I 

he  was  actuated  bv  mot4ves~'M^  spite  would 
appea^lbobe  very  doubtful. 

Even  more  has  Cotton  Mather’s  position  been 
misunderstood  and  misinterpreted.  He  and  his 


1  Samuel  Parris’  “Acknowledgement,’ 
Fowler’s  ed.,  150. 


1694;  quoted  by  Calef, 


240  WITCHCRAFT  IX  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

father,  Increase  Mather,  were  conservative  in  all 
matters  relating  to  the  witchcraft  prosecutions 
after  they  began.  Cotton  Mather  has  been 
charged  repeatedly  with  getting  up  the  delu¬ 
sion  at  Salem  Village,  with  being  “  the  chief 
agent  of  the  mischief,^’  and  helping  it  on 
throughout  that  dark  summer.  On  the  contrary, 
he  was  not  present  at  a  single  trial,  and  was  at 
only  one  execution.  It  is  an  open  question 
whether  he  was  not  at  the  execution  of  Mr. 
Burroughs  as  a  friend  and  brother  minister  and 
not  as  a  persecutor.  We  should  take  with  some 
measure  of  allowance  Calef’s  statement  about 
Mather’s  declaration  that  Burroughs  was  no 
ordained  minister.  Mr.  Mather  advised  the 
judges  and  the  council  to  exercise  great  care, 
and  not  to  convict  on  spectral  evidence  alone.  It 
has  been  said  that  he  advised  testing  the  accused 
by  having  them  repeat  the  Lord’s  prayer.  So  he 
did.  But  in  doing  so  he  especially  enjoined  the 
judges  not  to  use  it  as  evidence  to  convict.  Here 
are  his  exact  words  : 

“  That  they  be  tested  by  rei)eatiiig  the  Lord’s  prayer  or 
those  other  Sistems  of  Christianity  which  it  seems  the  divels 
often  make  the  witches  unable  to  rex>eat  without  ridiculous 
Depravations  and  Amputations.  The  danger  of  this  exi)eri- 
ment  will  be  taken  away  if  you  make  no  evidence  of  it,  but 
only  put  it  to  the  use  I  mention.  .  .  .  The  like  I  would 
say  of  some  other  experiments  only  we  may  venture  too  far 
before  we  are  aware. ”2 


2  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  YIII.,  391. 


A  REVIEW. 


241 


At  the  very  outset  of  the  examination.  Cotton 
Mather  wrntp.  tn  M  Kichards^ 

hnmhiy  heggine;  him  that  he  do  not  lay  more 
str^  on  pnre  spectre  testimony  than  it  will  bear.  It  is 
certain  that  the  divils  have  sometimes  represented  the 
shapes  of  persons  noFonl^iimb^ht  hut  very  vertddns.’^ 

He  wrote  to  Judge  Sew^Fon  Aug.  17,  1692 : 

“  I  do  still  Think  That  when  there  is  no  further  Evidence 
against  a  person  but  only  This,  That  a  Spectre  in  their 
shape  does  afflict  a  neighbor,  that  Evidence  is  not  enough 
to  convict  ye  ,  .  of  witchcraft.” 

This  letter  was  written  two  days  before  the 
execution  of  Proctor,  Burroughs,  Willard,  Car¬ 
rier  and  Jacobs,  and  therefore  this  further  sen¬ 
tence  is  peculiarly  significant : 

“  If  any  persons  have  been  condemned  about  whom  any 
of  ye  judges  are  not  easy  in  their  minds,  that  ye  Evidence 
against  them,  has  been  satisfactory,  it  would  certainly  be 
for  ye  glory  of  the  whole  Transaction  to  give  that  person  a 
Reprieve.”^ 

't^t  Cotton  Mather  believed  in  witchcraft,  is 
not  the  question.  We~  ¥now  he  did  in  the 
strongest  ma.nnpr7  and  t5at~he  had  written  ex- " 
tens^elv  in  support  of  the  doctrine.  JXqiu-4s-- 
there  any  question  but  that  he  believed  in  the 
admission  of  spectral  evidence.  But  the  ques- 
tion  is^,  how  far  would  he  gq^  in'^the-  proseeu^en^ 
and  how  much  credence  would  he  give  to  this 
evidence.  It  seems  plain  frogi-CluotatiOns  alreMy 

3Ibd. 

4  Transactions  of  the  Lit.  and  Hist.  Society  of  Quebec,  n., 
313. 


242 


WITCHCKAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


made  from  his  writings  that,  while  he  believed 
in  the  admission  of  the  testimony  he  did  not 
believe  in  convicting  persons  on  it  alone!  Pmps 
wrdtepGir-Feb: ~21,  169^;  that '  the  advice  given 
by  the  Mathers  and  other  ministers  for  more 
caution  in  the  admission  of  evidence,  had  much 
"lessened  the  peril  of  conviction.^  Nevertheless,!-^ 
i^JJbtton  Mather  was  in  a  degree  respousiblfi^ 
for  the  witchcraft  troubles  of  1692,  because  he  haj-^ 
been  for  several  y^’s  instilling  into  the  minds  of 
the  people  belief,  n'orbnT^n  the  reality  of  witch-"? 

.  eraff7^ut~in^e'“existence  of  an  ever  present 
d evil  who  wasr*'  using  "the  spectres  of  human 
bejngs  to“do  his  evil  deed^  Mather^ppeafs  to 
hav^Tiad  an  unbounded  faith  in  his  own  knowl- 
I  edge  and  power ;  he  believed  himself  divinely^ 
^^ppointed,  above  all  his  brother  ministers,  to 
lead  in  the  work  of  purifying  the  community  if 
not  the  world,  and  driving  out  the  evil  one. 

Mr.  Mather’s  plan  for  dealing  with  people 
supposed  to  be  bewitched  was  to  pray  with  them, 
not  to  prosecute  the  persons  whom  they  accused 
of  being  their  tormentors.  He  seems  to  have 
been  as  successful  with  his  remedy  as  the  judges 
were  with  theirs.  He  prayed  with  the  Goodwin 
children  and  with  their  alleged  tormentors.  That 
outbreak  was  checked  in  the  family  where  it  ori¬ 
ginated,  and  no  lives  were  then  sacrificed,  beyond 
that  of  Mrs.  Glover.  Perhaps  if  Mather  had 


6  Felt’s  Annals  of  Salem,  II.,  482. 


A  REVIEW. 


243 


been  as  active  in  the  Salem  Village  witchcrafts 
as  some  of  his  detractors  allege,  he  would  have 
been  the  means  of  saving  the  lives  that  were 
sacrificed  to  the  law  and  the  ill-timed  activity 
of  Parris,  Noyes,  Hale,  and  the  court.  Brattle, 
speaking  of  the  execution  of  Burroughs  and 
others,  at  which  Cotton  Mather  was  present, 
says  : 

“  They  protested  their  innocency  as  in  the  presence  of  the 
great  God  whom  forthwith  they  were  to  appear  before ; 
they  wished,  and  declared  their  wish  ,  that  their  blood 
might  be  the  last  innocent  blood  shed  upon  that  account. 
With  great  affectation  they  entreated  Mr.  C.  M.  to  pray 
with  them;  they  prayed  that  God  would  discover  what 
witchcrafts  were  among  us  ;  they  forgave  their  accusers, 
they  spake  without  reflection  on  jury  and  judges  for  bring¬ 
ing  them  in  guilty  and  condemning  them :  they  prayed  ear¬ 
nestly  for  pardon  for  all  other  sins  and  for  an  interest  in 
the  precious  blood  of  our  dear  Redeemer :  and  seemed  to  be 
very  sincere,  upright,  and  sensible  of  their  circumstances 
on  all  accounts;  especially  Proctor  and  Willard,  whose 
whole  management  of  themselves,  from  the  Jail  to  the 
Gallows,  and  whilst  at  the  Gallows,  was  very  affecting  and 
melting  to  the  hearts  of  some  considerable  spectators,  whom 
I  could  mention  to  you :  but  they  are  executed  and  so  I 
leave  them.”® 

The  reader  will  have  noticed,  no  doubt,^  that 
the  charges  of  witchcraft  in  1692  were  made 
ihainly  by  children,  as  in  all  previous  cases  in 
this  and  'btEeF'coiratrifesT  ^Children  were  the'ac- 
cusers  in  nearly  every  instance  ;  children  were 
the  afflicted,  and  children  were  Hie  principal 


6  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.  (1st.  series),  V.,  68. 


244  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


witnesses.  Little  j4nn  Putnam  testified  in  nine- 
teen  cases,  Elizabeth  Hubbard  in  twenty,  Mary 
Walcott  in  sixteen,  Mary  Warren  in  twelve, 
Mercy  Lewis  in  ten,  Abigail  Williams,  Susan 
Sheldon  and  Elizabeth  Booth  in  eight  each.  In 
fact,  the  delusion  originated  with  children  and 
was  kept  alive  by  thenf. '  theiiT  testi- 

mtmyTTtTcQuld  jiQ^^aye^beeQ  maintained~Tor  a 
day.  Ann  Putnam^s  power  o^r  life^lind  death 
exceeded  that  of  judges  and  jury.  '  When  she 
said  Martha  '  Corey  was  a  witch,  Martha  was 
arf^^r'"Wheh  she  said  the  man  Abbott  was 
the  one  whose  appearance  had  tormented  her, 
he^^s^rrested.  When  she  said  he  was  not  the 


was  instantly  released.  WbatLjJSptiyes 
promptedT  thes^children  it  is  difficult  to  say.  It 
may  be  they  were  carried  away  by  the  impor- 
lamcelh  the  community  which  their  statements 
gavS^the  m ;  ^rj 


may  have  been  the  victims 
of  the  same  mental  derangement  that  altiicted 
tlig'T^defljie^e^.  We  do  not  know,  we^ca 
ever  know,  what  prompted  them  to  act  as  the 
did.  The  Carr  family  from  which  Ann  Putnam 
was  descended,  is  known  to  have  been^ne-winJSe 
kpaembers  were  very  impressionable,  given  to  fits 

of  nervous^^s  and  hysteria.  _ _ — 

Bn^hnw  sha.ll  wft  anp.mmtAPV  tbft  stQriea  tnld 

by  the  numerous  ^ult  witnesses?  What  ex¬ 
planation  shall  be  offered  for  the  marvelous 
tales  of  Mrs.  Ann  Putnam,  of  Eichard  Carr, 


A  REVIEW. 


245 


Samuel  Sheldon,  Jonathan  Westgate,  Samuel 
Shattuck  and  others?  Some  statements  by  these 
witnesses  -are— undoubtedly- merely_.exaggerated 


accounts  of_  eyery  day;  occurrences.  Others  are 
not  thus  explainable.  The  only  solution  which 
we  should  be  likely  to  offer  of  such  tales  in  this 
day  and  generation.  -^wnuIdJje  that  the  person’s 
mind  was  badly  disordered  by  insanity,  or  by 
ha'bituaT  intemperance,  or  that  he  had  suffered 
an  attack  of  nightmare.  It  is  pretty  evident 
that  the  two  disorders  last  named  did  effect  the 
testimonies  of  some  of  the  witnesses,  but^  the 
soluidnn  that  spoms  most  reasonable  is  that 
which  attributes  the  conducF6T~fire'se  persons  to 
a  ^rt  of  epidemic,  which  pervaded  the  whole 


community.  Men  and  women  were  temporarily 
insane  oveiT  the  strange  occurrences  in  their 
midst.  Their  minds  were  actual]y„_di§e.ased. 
Many  who  confessed  themselves  witches  subse- 
quently  explained  that  they  did  this  /‘.because 
so  many  people  were  positive  the  ‘devil  had  ap¬ 
peared  in  their  shapes,  they  could  not  doubt  it 
true.^^  They  had  been  educated  to  believe 
such  things  not  only  possible  but  probable  and 
common.  They  did  not  know  but  that  the  demon 
hflil  invisibly  taken  their  shapes  to  torment 
othexa.  F^rs^s--wliam-  4hey..did-  not.  auspect  of 
intentionally  falsifying,  testifiednnder  oath  thai^ 
tffsa^  things  had  been  done,  and  they  could  not 
dmibt  it.  The  safest  way  therefore,  as  they  well 


246  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


knew,  was  to  confess.  Others,  no  doubt  did^ot 
belieye_^e  testimonvi^ainst  themselves,  but 
actmowledged  themselves  to  be  witches  because 
those  who  ■  co'nfesse^d  were  discharged,,  while 
thOFS-Whoaid  not  were  eventually  convicted  and 
executed'  Soihe  stbbdno  the  confession  and 
wfre~saved.  Others,  under  the  promptings  of 
their  consciences,  repudiated  the  confession  and 
suffered  death.  It  is  difi&cult  to  reconcile  the 
conduct  of  Thomas  Putnam,  and  his  wife  Ann, 
and  their  daughter  Ann,  jr.,  with  other  than 
motives  of  personal  malice.  Young  Ann,  as  we 
have  seen,  was  a  leading  complainant  and  wit¬ 
ness  in  all  the  important  cases.  The  mother 
testified  at  several  trials,  telling  some  of  the 
most  improbable  stories  recorded  in  all  this  his" 
tory.  Thomas  was  an  active  and  leading  charac¬ 
ter  throughout  from  first  to  last.  He  prepared 
many  of  the  depositions  for  his  daughter,  and 
on  several  occasions,  made  statements  for  her 
over  his  own  signature.  Why  he  was  thus 
prominent  does  not  clearly  appear.  It  may  be 
that  he  was  prompted  solely  by  what  he  believed 
to  be  for  the  public  good  :  that  he  was  honest, 
but  misguided,  yet  his  zeal  was  certainly  extra¬ 
ordinary. 

0f  theji(mduct_of*idm--examia«ig-iaa^istraI^ 


the  judges  and  other  officials,  but  one  opinion 
s^ln¥'pdsslye  l  Ihey.  -were.  misguidfi(i_ijijth^ 

7  I  ~  *  * 

sehse  of_dRly,jijg.ust  to  the.-accu&ed,  and  unnec- 


A  REVIEW. 


247 


essarily  severe  with  the  prisoners.  This  is  true 
whether  we  judge  theih  "frorn  the  standpoint  of 
1892  or  1692.  The  accused  were  treated,  from 
the  moment  some  babbling  child,  uttered  a  suspic¬ 
ious  word  against  them,  to  the  burial  of  their 
bodies  after  execution,  with  a  harshness  some¬ 
times  little  short  of  brutality,  and  with  far 
more  severity  than  any  evidence  would  indicate 
that  persons  accused  of  other  crimes  in  those 
days  were  treated.  They  appear- to  have  been- 
regarded  as  veritable  devils  themselves,  ready  to 
tofment  everybody.  Their  rights,  even  as  the 
r ights_ ,  of  accused  p^sons  were  un derstood  in 
1692,  were  not  protected.  The  treatment  of 
persons  accused  of  witchcraft  in  England  a  half 
century  earlier,  by  courts  and  officers,  was  ap¬ 
parently  more  civilized  and  humane,  so  far  as 
any  one  can  judge  from  the  accounts  left  to  us 
of  those  trials.  The>great  mistake  of  the  judges 
in  Massachusetts  was  in  allowing  convictions  on 
spectral  evidence  alone^  and  in  holding  that  the 
devil  could  not  appear  in  the  shape  of  a  person 
without  that  personas  consent,  altho.ugh  they  had 
English  precedents  for  this  course.  Stoughton 
maintained  this  view  throughout  the  entire 
period,  against  the  advice  of  some  of  his  asso¬ 
ciates  on  the  bench.  It  is  not  to  be  presumed 
that  he  or  any  one  else  connected  with  these 
prosecutions  desired  to  convict  innocent  persons, 
or  to  take  the  lives  of  any  not  proven  guilty  by 


248  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

what  seemed  to  them  legitimate  evidence.  They 
undoubtedly  believed  that  the  word  of  a  witch 
was  not  to  be  taken  under  any  circumstances  ; 
that  when  the  accused  made  any  statements  in 
their  own  behalf  they  were  prompted  to  it  by 
the  devil,  and  therefore  not  to  be  believed. 

One  thing  at  least  seems  certain  regarding  the 
witchcraft  prosecutions :  nearly  every  man 
prominently  connected  with  them  subsequently 
confessed  his  error.  Even  Stoughton,  in  1696, 
approved  a  proclamation  ordaining  a  public  fast 
to  be  kept  on  the  14th  of  January,  1697,  to  im¬ 
plore  that  the  anger  of  God  might  be  turned 
away,  and  concluding  with  the  expression  of 
a  fear  that  something  might  still  be  wanting  to 
accompany  their  supplications,  especially  as  re¬ 
lated  to  the  witchcraft  tragedy.  The  General 
Court  subsequently  reimbursed  to  the  heirs  of 
the  executed  persons  and  to  those  who  were  im¬ 
prisoned  from  time  to  time  during  1692-3 
more  or  less  of  the  losses  suffered  by  them,  and 
reversed  the  attainders.  I  am  aware  that  it  is  a 
disputed  question  whether  all  the  necessary  for¬ 
malities  to  make  the  several  acts  of  the  General 
Court  of  full  force  and  effect  were  ever  fulfilled  ; 
but  there  is  no  question  that  the  sentiment  of 
the  people’s  representatives  was  overwhelmingly 
in  favor  of  doing  thus  much  to  right  a  great 
wrong. 

Kev.  John  Hale  of  Beverly,  one  of  the  ablest 


A  REVIEW. 


249 


divines  in  Kew  England,  repented  of  the  part 
he  had  taken  in  the  affair,  and  wrote  that, 

“  By  following  such  traditions  of  our  fathers,  maxims  of 
the  common  law,  and  precedents  and  principles,  which  now 
we  may  see  weighed  in  the  balance  of  the  sanctuary,  are 
found  too  light — such  was  the  darkness  of  that  day,  the  tor¬ 
tures  and  lamentations  of  the  afflicted,  and  the  power  of 
former  precedents,  that  we  walked  in  the  clouds  and  could 
not  see  our  way.” 

The  First  Church  in  Salem,  by  vote  recorded, 
that  we  are  through  God’s  mercy  to  us,  con¬ 
vinced  that  we  were  at  that  dark  day,  under  the 
power  of  those  errors  which  then  prevailed  in 
the  land.”^  On  July  8,  1703,  the  ministers  of 
Essex  county  addressed  a  memorial  to  the  Gen¬ 
eral  Court,  saying  there  was  “  great  reason  to 
fear  that  innocent  persons  then  suffered,  and 
that  God  may  have  a  controversey  with  the  land 
upon  that  account.”®  The  jurors  who  tried  and 
convicted  the  accused,  united  in  a  public  state¬ 
ment  in  which  they  said,  among  other  things  : 

We  justly  fear  that  we  were  sadly  deluded  and 
mistaken.”  It  may  interest  the  reader  to  know 
who  the  jurymen  were.  Neal  gives  the  follow¬ 
ing  list  of  one  jury ;  Thomas  Fisk,  foreman, 
William  Fisk,  John  Batchelder,  Thomas  Fisk, 
jun.,  John  Dane,  Joseph  Eveleth,  Thomas  Per- 
ly,  sen.;  John  Peabody,  Thomas  Perkins,  Sam¬ 
uel  Sayer,  Andrew  Elliott  and  Henry  Herrick, 

7  Records  First  Church,  Salem. 

8  Witchcraft  Papers,  State  House,  Boston. 


250  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 


sen.  Ann  Putnam  lived  to  realize  the  error  of 
her  conduct,  and  to  repent  of  it  most  bitterly. 
In  1706,  Eev.  Joseph  Green,  then  pastor  of  the 
Village  church,  read  her  confession  to  the 
church.  It  was  as  follows  : 

I  desire  to  be  humbled  before  God  for  that  sad  and  bum¬ 
bling  providence  that  befel  my  father’s  family  in  the  year 
about  1692 ;  that  I,  then  being  in  my  childhood,  should  by 
such  a  providence  of  God,  be  made  an  instrument  for  the 
accusing  of  several  persons  of  a  grievous  crime,  whereby 
their  lives  were  taken  away  from  them,  whom  now  I  have 
just  grounds  and  good  reason  to  believe  they  were  innocent 
persons ;  and  that  it  was  a  great  delusion  of  Satan  that  de¬ 
ceived  me  in  that  sad  time,  whereby  I  justly  fear  I  have 
been  instrumental,  with  others,  though  ignorantly  and  un¬ 
wittingly,  to  bring  upon  myself  and  this  land  the  guilt  of 
innocent  blood;  though  what  was  said  or  done  by  me 
against  any  person  I  can  truly  and  uprightly  say  before 
God  and  man,  I  did  it  not  out  of  any  anger,  malice  or  ill- 
will  to  any  person,  for  I  had  no  such  thing  against  one  of 
them,  but  what  I  did  was  ignorantly,  being  deluded  of 
satan.  And  particularly  as  I  was  a  chief  instrument  of  ac¬ 
cusing  of  good  wife  Nurse  and  her  two  sisters,  I  desire  to  lie 
in  the  dust,  and  to  be  humbled  for  it,  in  that  I  was  a  cause, 
with  others,  of  so  sad  a  calamity  to  them  and  their  fami¬ 
lies  ;  for  which  cause  I  desire  to  lie  in  the  dust,  and  ear¬ 
nestly  beg  forgiveness  of  God,  and  from  all  those  unto 
whom  I  have  given  just  cause  of  sorrow  and  offence,  whose 
relations  were  taken  away  or  accused. 

Many  others  connected  with  the  prosecutions 
subsequently  acknowledged  their  error.  None 
of  these  people,  as  I  understand  it,  denied 
witchcraft  itself.  The  error  they  acknowledged 
was  as  to  the  method  of  procedure.  They  con¬ 
fessed  that  they  had  been  too  hasty  in  their 


A  REVIEW. 


251 


judgments,  and  had  accused  and  convicted  in¬ 
nocent  persons. 

Great  stress  has  been  laid  on  the  so-called 
**  confession  of  Judge  Sewall  in  the  old  South 
Church,  Boston,  on  Fast  Bay,  1697.  The  act 
was  nothing  out  of  the  usual  course  for  Sewall, 
or  for  many  others  in  that  day.  They  had  a 
habit,  whenever  any  great  joy  or  sorrow  came  to 
them  or  their  families,  of  putting  up  a  bill  ” 
to  be  read  from  the  pulpit.  SewalBs  diary 
shows  that  he  did  this  often.  It  was  not  usually 
a  confession  of  any  special  sin,  but  a  petition,’^ 
he  calls  it.  The  governor  had  appointed  a  day 
of  fasting  and  prayer.  On  that  day  Sewall 
handed  his  petition  to  the  minister,  and,  as  was 
the  custom,  stood  up  in  his  pew  while  it  was 
being  read.  The  petition  was  as  follows  : 

Samuel  Sewall,  sensible  of  the  reiterated  strokes  of  God 
upon  himself  and  family,  and  being  sensible  that  as  to  the 
guilt  contracted  on  the  opening  of  the  late  Commission  of 
oyer  and  Terminer  at  Salem  (to  which  the  order  for  this 
day  relates)  he  is  upon  many  accotmts,  more  concerned 
than  any  he  knows  of.  Desires  to  take  the  Blame  and  shame 
of  it,  Asking  pardon  of  men.  And  especially  desiring 
prayers  that  God  who  has  an  Unlimited  Authority,  would 
pardon  that  sin  and  all  other  his  sins,  personal  and  Rela¬ 
tive.  And  according  to  his  infinite  Benignity  and  Soverign- 
ty  Not  Visit  the  sin  of  him  or  any  other,  upon  himself  or 
any  of  his,  nor  upon  the  Land.  But  that  He  would  power¬ 
fully  defend  him  against  all  Temptation  to  Sin,  For  the 
Future,  and  vouchsafe  him  the  efficatious,  saving  Conduct 
of  his  Word  and  Spirit. 


9  Sewall  Papers,  I,  446. 


252  WITCHCRAFT  IN  SALEM  VILLAGE. 

These  examples  of  repentance  and  change  of 
sentiments  might  be  continued  almost  indefinite¬ 
ly,  but  enough  has  been  given  to  show  that  the 
leading  prosecutors  and  the  officials  generally, 
subsequently  acknowledged  their  mistake.  The 
conclusion,  therefore,  which  seems  most  rational 
is  that  which  attributes  the  unfortunate  affair  to 
a  species  of  neighborhood  insanity,  a  whole¬ 
sale  delusion.  It  was  like  a  cyclone  that  sweeps 
over  the  land,  or  a  conflagration  that  wipes  out 
of  existence  whole  sections  of  a  city.  We  do 
not  realize  the  awful  drama  which  is  being  en¬ 
acted  around  us.  Only  when  the  storm  has 
passed  and  we  awake  to  a  thorough  comprehen¬ 
sion  of  the  calamity,  do  we  appreciate  its  force  ; 
then,  the  hour  of  its  raging  seems  like  a  dream. 
Such,  I  judge,  was  substantially  the  case  with 
our  ancestors  two  centuries  ago.  They  did  not 
realize,  during  the  summer  of  1692,  the  awful¬ 
ness  of  the  tragedy  they  were  enacting.  They 
believed  that  they  were  casting  out  devils,  and 
that  any  measures,  however  severe,  were  justi¬ 
fiable.  Their  language  after  the  storm  was 
passed  and  a  calm  had  settled  over  the  land,  im¬ 
plies  as  much, — and  more, — that  the  full  realiza¬ 
tion  of  what  they  had  been  doing,  dawned  on 
them  only  after  all  was  over.  The  witchcraft 
tragedy  must  then  have  seemed  to  them  like  a 
hoiTid~'nigErtmareT  We_of  the  present  genera¬ 
tion  shud^et_at  the  intolerant  persecutions  and 


A  REVIEW. 


253 


super^ti^ns  of  our  ancestors.  Let  us  do 
Dothmg~~iTrprditffi^"^  that  will  cause 

our  descendants  to  blush  for  us.“^  It  is  well  to  re- 
vlve  the  unwise  or  unjust  acts  of  our  ancestors 
sometimes,  as  we  would  place  a  beacon  on  some 
shoal  or  reef  where  a  ship  had  been  wrecked,  to 
warn  others  of  the  danger. 


APPENDIX  A. 


For  more  convenient  reference  a  list  of  all  persons  accused 
of  witchcraft  in  1692,  so  far  as  known,  is  appended. 

The  following  were  executed:  June  10,  Bridget  Bishop; 
July  19,  Sarah  Good,  Sarah  Wildes,  Elizabeth  How,  Su¬ 
sanna  Martin  and  Rebecca  Nurse ;  August  19,  George  Bur¬ 
roughs,  John  Procter,  George  Jacobs,  sen.,  John  Willard, 
and  Martha  Carrier ;  September  22,  Martha  Corey,  Mary 
Easty,  Alice  Parker,  Ann  Pudeator,  Margaret  Scott,  Wil- 
mot  Reed,  Samuel  Ward  well  and  Mary  Parker;  September 
19,  Giles  Corey  pressed  to  death. 

The  following  were  condemned  but  not  executed  :  At  the 
third  session  of  the  court  in  August,  Elizabeth  Procter; 
fourth  session,  Dorcas  Hoar;  fifth  session,  Abigail  Faulk¬ 
ner,  Rebecca  Fames,  Mary  Lacy,  Ann  Foster  and  Abigail 
Hobbs;  at  the  January  session  of  the  new  court  in  1693, 
Mary  Post,  Sarah  Ward  well  and  Elizabeth  Johnson. 

Below  will  be  found  a  partial  list  of  persons  accused 
whether  convicted  or  not:  Andover,  Nehemiah  Abbott, 
Sarah  Bridges,  Abigail  Barker,  William  Barker,  William 
Barker,  jun.,  Mary  Barker,  John  Bradstreet,  Mrs.  Ebenezer 
Baker,  William  Barry,  Martha  Carrier,  Richard  Carrier, 
Sarah  Cave,  Deliverance  Dane,  Mrs.  Nathan  Dane,  Abigail 

Faulkner,  Ann  Foster,  Eunice  Frye,  -  Harrington, 

Stephen  Johnson,  John  Laundry,  Mary  Lacy,  Mary  Mars- 
ton,  Mary  Osgood,  Mary  Parker,  Hannah  Tyler,  Martha 
Tyler,  Joanna  Tyler,  Hope  Tyler,  Samuel  Ward  well,  Sarah 
Wilson,  Sarah  Wilson,  jun.,  Mary  Wardwell. 

Amesbury,  Susanna  Martin. 

Beverly,  Dorcas  Hoar,  Rebecca  Johnson,  Sarah  Merrill, 
Sarah  Morey,  Susanna  Roote,  Sarah  Riste,  Job  Tukey  and 
John  Wright. 


APPENDIX. 


255 


Boxford,  Rebecca  Eames  and  Robert  Eames. 

Boston,  John  Alden  and  John  Flood. 

Billerica,  Goodman  Abbott,  M.  Andrews,  Mary  Tooth- 
aker,  Jason  Toothaker  and  Roger  Toothaker. 

Chelmsford,  Martha  Sparks. 

Charlestown,  Elizabeth  Carey  and  Elizabeth  Payne. 

Gloucester,  Mary  Coffin,  Ann  Doliver,  Martha  Prince 
and  Abigail  Somes. 

Haverhill,  Mary  Greene  and  Mrs.  Francis  Hutchinson. 

Lynn,  Sarah  Bassett,  Sarah  Cole,  Mary  Derick,  Mary 
Derrill,  Thomas  Farrar,  Elizabeth  Hart,  Mary  Ireson  and 
Mary  Rich. 

Malden,  Elizabeth  Fosdick. 

Marblehead,  Wilmot  Reed. 

Reading,  Elizabeth  Colson,  Sarah  Dustin,  Lydia  Dustin 
and  Sarah  Rice. 

Rowley,  Mary  Post  and  Margaret  Scott. 

Salem,  Candy  (an  Indian  slave),  Phillip  English,  Mary 
English,  Thomas  Hardy,  Alice  Parker,  Sarah  Pease,  Ann 
Pudeator,  Mary  de  Riels  and  Mrs.  White. 

Salem  Village  and  Farms,  Daniel  Andrews,  Edward 
Bishop,  Bridget  Bishop,  Sarah  Bishop,  Mary  Black,  John 
Buxton,  Sarah  Bibber,  Sarah  Buckley,  Sarah  Cloyse,  Mar¬ 
tha  Corey,  Giles  Corey,  Sarah  Good,  Dorothy  Good,  John 
Indian,  George  Jacobs,  sen.,  George  Jacobs,  jun.,  Margaret 
Jacobs,  Martha  Jacobs,  Rebecca  Jacobs,  Rebecca  Nurse, 
John  Procter,  Elizabeth  Procter,  Benjamin  Procter,  Wil¬ 
liam  Procter,  Tituba,  Mary  Warren,  Mary  Whittridge  and 
John  Willard. 

Salisbury,  Mary  P.  Bradbury. 

Topsfield,  Nehemiah  Abbott,  jun.,  Mary  Easty,  Abigail 
Hobbs,  Deliverance  Hobbs,  William  Hobbs,  Elizabeth 
How,  James  How  and  Sarah  Wildes. 

Wells,  Me.,  George  Burroughs. 

Woburn,  Bethia  Carter. 

Residence  unknown,  Rachel  Clinton. 

Sarah  Osburn  and  Ann  Foster  were  convicted  and  sen¬ 
tenced,  but  died  in  prison. 


256 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX  B. 


The  question  whether  the  attainders  were  ever  removed 
and  whether  the  heirs  of  all  the  sufferers  ever  received 
compensation  at  the  hands  of  the  General  Court  has  been 
ably  and  exhaustively  argued  by  Mr.  A.  C.  Goodell  of 
Salem,  editor  of  the  Province  Laws,  and  Dr.  George  H. 
Moore  of  New  York,  in  papers  read  before  the  Massachu* 
setts  Historical  Society  and  published  in  the  proceedings  of 
that  society,  and  also  in  pamphlet  form.  Both  of  these 
authorities  agreed  that  an  act  passed  in  1703  reversing  the 
attainders  of  Abigail  Faulkner,  Sarah  Wardwelland  Eliza¬ 
beth  Procter.  The  records  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of 
courts  in  Salem  contain  a  statement  of  the  amounts  allowed 
in  the  case  of  each  person  and  also  the  acknowledgment 
of  the  receipt  of  the  money  by  numerous  claimants.  The 
following  document  shows  beyond  question  that  pecuniary 
compensation  was  made  to  many  of  the  sufferers  whether 
the  attaint  was  ever  fully  removed  or  not : 

By  His  Excellency  the  Governor. 

Whereas  ye  Generali  Assemt)ly  in  their  last  Session  ac¬ 
cepted  ye  report  of  their  comitte  appointed  to  consider  of  ye 
Damages  Sustained  by  Sundry  persons  prosecuted  for 
Witchcraft  in  ye  year  1692  Viz* 


To  Elizabeth  How 

12-0-0 

John  Procter  &  wife  150-0-0 

George  Jacobs 

79-0-0 

Sarah  Wild 

14-0-0 

Mary  Easty 

20-0-0 

Mary  Bradbury 

20-0-0 

Mary  Parker 

8-0-0 

Abigail  Faulkner 

20-0-0 

George  Burroughs 

50-0-0 

Abigail  Hobbs 

10-0-0 

Giles  Corey  &  wife 

21-0-0 

Anne  Foster 

6-10-0 

Kebeccah  Nurse 

25-0-0 

Rebeccah  Eames 

10-0-0 

John  Willard 

20-0-0 

Dorcas  Hoar 

21-17-0 

Sarah  Good 

30-0-0 

Mary  Post 

8-14-0 

Martha  Carrier 

7-6-0 

Mary  Lacey 

8-10-0 

Samuel  Wardwell  & 

wife 

36-16-0 

269-11-00 

309-01-00 

309-01-00 

678-12-00 

APPENDIX. 


257 


The  whole  amounting  unto  Five  Hundred  Seventy  Eight 
poimdes  &  Twelve  Shillings. 

I  do  by  &  with  the  advice  &  consent  of  Her  Majt«y*  coun¬ 
cil  hereby  order  you  to  pay  ye  above  Sum  of  five  hundred 
Seventy  Eight  poundes  &  Twelve  shillings  to  Stephen 
Sewall  Esqr.  who  together  with  ye  Gentlemen  of  ye  Com- 
itte  that  Estimated  and  Reported  ye  Said  Damages  are  de¬ 
sired  &  directed  to  distribute  ye  Same  in  proportion  as 
above  to  such  of  ye  Said  persons  as  are  Living  &  to  those 
that  legally  represent  them  that  are  dead  according  as  ye 
law  directs  for  which  this  shall  be  your  warrant. 

Given  under  my  hand  at  Boston 
the  17  day  of  December  1711. 

J ;  Dudley 

To  Mr.  Treasurer  Taylor 

By  order  of  ye  Governor  &  Council 
Isa  Addington  Secrty 

Other  papers  on  the  same  files  contain  the  receipts  of  the 
heirs  of  the  above  named  parties  for  the  amounts  allowed 
to  them.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  names  of  six  persons  who 
were  executed  do  not  appear  in  this  list,  neither  does  that 
of  Elizabeth  Johnson  jr.  who  was  condemned  but  not  exe¬ 
cuted,  nor  that  of  Sarah  Osburn  who  died  in  prison.  I  do 
not  find  that  their  heirs  ever  received  any  compensation  for 
the  damages  sustained  by  their  persons  and  estates.  Ap¬ 
parently  none  of  the  heirs  of  the  six  who  were  condemned 
ever  petitioned  for  reimbursement  or  for  the  removal  of  the 
attaint.  For  this  reason  doubtless  their  names  do  not  ap¬ 
pear  in  the  list  reported  upon  by  the  committee.  Elizabeth 
Johnson  did  sign  the  petition,  but  her  name  was  omitted, 
either  accidentally,  or  purposely  because  of  her  bad  charac¬ 
ter. 


APPENDIX  C. 


The  letter  of  Gov.  Phips  to  the  home  government  under 
date  of  Feb.  21,  1692-3  is  as  follows : 

May  it  please  yo'  Lords**P. 

By  the  Capn.  of  ye  Samuell  &  Henry  I  gave  an  account 


258 


APPENDIX. 


that  att  my  arrivall  here  I  found  ye  Prisons  full  of  people 
comilted  upon  suspicion  of  witchcraft  &  that  continuall 
complaints  were  made  to  me  that  many  persons  were  griev¬ 
ously  tormented  by  witches  &  that  they  cryed  out  upon 
severall  persons  by  name,  as  ye  cause  of  their  torments  ye 
number  of  these  complaints  increasing  every  day,  by  ad¬ 
vice  of  ye  Lieut.  Govr.  &  ye  Councill  I  gave  a  Comission  of 
Oyer  and  Terminer  to  try  ye  suspected  witches  &  at  that 
time  the  generality  of  ye  People  represented  ye  matter  to 
me  as  reall  witchcraft  &  gave  very  strange  instances  of  the 
same.  The  first  in  Comission  was  ye  Lieut.  Govr.  &  ye  rest 
persons  of  ye  best  prudence  &  figure  that  could  then  be 
pitched  upon  &  I  depended  upon  ye  Court  for  a  right 
method  of  proceeding  in  cases  of  witchcraft ;  at  that  time  I 
went  to  comand  the  army  at  ye  Eastern  part  of  the 
Province  for  ye  French  and  Indians  had  made  an  attack 
upon  some  of  our  Frontier  Towns,  I  continued  there  for 
some  time  but  when  I  returned  I  found  people  much  dissat¬ 
isfied  at  ye  proceedings  of  ye  Court  for  about  Twenty  per¬ 
sons  were  condemned  and  executed  of  which  number  some 
were  thought  by  many  persons  to  be  innocent.  The  Court 
still  proceeded  in  ye  same  method  of  trying  them,  which  was 
by  ye  evidence  of  ye  afliicted  persons  who  when  they  were 
brought  into  ye  Court  as  soon  as  the  suspected  witches 
looked  upon  them  instantly  fell  to  ye  ground  in  strange 
agonies  &  grievous  torments,  but  when  touchd  by  them 
upon  ye  arme  or  some  other  part  of  their  flesh  they  imed- 
iately  revived  &  came  to  themselves,  upon  [which]  they 
made  oath  that  ye  Prisoner  at  ye  Bar  did  afflict  them  & 
that  they  saw  their  shape  or  spectre  come  from  their  bodies 
which  put  them  to  such  paines  &  torments :  When  I  en¬ 
quired  into  ye  matter  I  was  enformed  by  ye  Judges  that 
they  begun  with  this,  but  had  humane  testimony  against 
such  as  were  condemned  &  undoubted  proof  of  their  being 
witches,  but  at  length  I  found  that  the  Devill  did  take  up¬ 
on  him  ye  shape  of  innocent  persons  &  some  were  accused 
of  whose  innocency  I  was  well  assured  &  many  considerable 
persons  of  unblameable  life  &  conversation  were  cried  out 


APPENDIX. 


259 


upon  as  witches  &  wizards  the  Deputy  Govr.  notwithstand¬ 
ing  persisted  vigorously  in  ye  same  method  to  ye  great  disat¬ 
isfaction  &  disturbance  of  ye  people  untill  I  put  an  end  to 
ye  Court  &  stopped  ye  proceedings  which  I  did  because  I 
saw  many  innocent  persons  might  otherwise  perish  &  at 
that  time  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  give  an  account  thereof 
that  their  Mat«» .  pleasure  might  be  signified  hoping  that 
for  the  better  ordering  thereof  je  judges  learned  in  the  law 
in  England  might  give  such  rules  &  directions  as  have  been 
practiced  in  England  for  proceedings  in  so  difficult  &  so 
nice  a  point ;  When  I  put  an  end  to  ye  Court  there  were  at 
least  fifty  persons  in  prison  in  great  misery  by  reason  of  the 
extreme  cold  &  their  poverty  most  of  them  having  only  spec¬ 
tre  evidence  against  them  &  their  mittimusses  being  defec¬ 
tive  I  caused  some  of  them  to  be  lett  out  upon  hayle  &  put 
ye  judges  upon  considering  of  a  way  to  reliefe  others  & 
prevent  them  from  perishing  in  prison,  upon  which  some  of 
them  were  convinced  &  acknowledged  that  their  former  pro¬ 
ceedings  were  too  violent  (fe  not  grounded  upon  a  right  foun¬ 
dation  but  that  if  they  might  sit  againe  they  would  proceed 
after  another  method  &  whereas  Mr.  Increase  Mather  & 
soverall  other  Divines  did  give  it  as  their  J udgement  that 
ye  Devill  might  afflict  in  ye  shape  of  an  innocent  person  & 
that  ye  look  &  ye  touch  of  ye  suspected  persons  was  not 
sufflcient  proofe  against  them,  these  things  had  not  ye  same 
stress  layd  upon  them  as  before  &  upon  this  consideration 
I  permitted  a  speciall  Superior  Court  to  be  held  at  Salem 
in  ye  County  of  Essex  on  ye  third  day  of  January  ye  Lieut. 
Govr.  being  Chief  Judge  their  method  of  proceeding  being 
altered,  all  that  were  brought  to  try  all  to  ye  number  of 
fifety  two,  were  cleared  saving  three  &  I  was  enformed  by 
the  Kings  Attorny  Generali  that  some  of  ye  cleared  and  ye 
condemned  were  under  ye  same  circumstances  or  that  there 
was  ye  same  reason  to  clear  ye  three  condemned  as  ye  rest 
according  to  his  Judgement.  The  Deputy  Govr.  signed  a 
Warrant  for  their  execution  &  also  of  five  others  who  were 
condemned  at  ye  former  Court  of  Oyer  and  terminer  but 
considering  how  ye  matter  had  been  managed  I  sent  a  re- 
priev  whereby  ye  execution  was  stopped  until  their  Maj. 


260 


APPENDIX. 


pleasure  be  signified  &  declared  the  Lieut.  Gov.  upon  this 
occasion  was  inraged  &  filled  with  passionate  anger  &  re¬ 
fused  to  sitt  on  ye  bench  in  a  Superior  Court  then  held 
[Tuesday,  January  3\,  1693]  at  Charles  Towne  (fe  indeed 
hath  from  the  begining  hurried  on  these  matters  with  great 
precipitancy  &  by  his  warrant  hath  caused  the  estates,  goods 
and  chatties  of  ye  executed  to  be  seized  &  disposed  of  without 
my  knowledge  or  consent,  the  stop  put  to  ye  first  method  of 
proceedings  hath  dissipated  ye  hlak  cloud  that  threatened 
this  Province  with  destruccon ;  for  whereas  this  delusion  of 
ye  Devill  did  spread  &  its  disniall  effects  touched  ye  lives 
&  estates  of  many  of  their  Ma‘8*.  Subjects  &  ye  reputacon 
of  some  of  ye  principall  persons  here  &  indeed  unhappily 
clogged  and  interrupted  their  Mates,  affaires  which  hath 
been  a  great  vexation  to  me !  I  have  no  new  complaints 
hat  peoples  minds  before  divided  and  distracted  by  differing 
opinions  concerning  this  matter  are  now  well  composed. 

I  am  Yor.  Lordships  most  faithfull  humble  Servant, 

William  Phips. 

To  the  Rt.  Hon'>^®.  the  Earle  of  Nottingham,  att  White¬ 
hall,  London. 


APPENDIX  D. 


The  most  noted  of  the  English  cases  of  witchcraft,  and 
the  one  most  frequently  cited  in  the  Salem  trials,  was  that 
heard  before  Lord  Chief  Justice  Hale  in  Bury  St.  Edmunds 
in  1665.  On  that  occasion  Amy  Duny  and  Rose  Cullender 
were  the  accused  and  were  tried  together.  The  report  of 
this  celebrated  trial  is  foimd  in  volume  6,  “  State  Trials,” 
page  647,  and  from  that  report  the  following  account  has 
been  condensed. 

The  morning  the  afflicted  came  into  the  hall  to  give  in¬ 
structions  for  the  drawing  of  their  bills  of  indictment, 
three  of  them  fell  into  strange  and  violent  fits,  shrieking 


APPENDIX. 


261 


out  in  a  most  sad  manner,  so  that  they  could  not  in  any 
wise  give  any  instruction  in  the  court  who  were  the  cause 
of  their  distemper.  And  although  they  did  after  some 
certain  space  recover  out  of  their  fits,  yet  they  were  every 
one  of  them  struck  dumb,  so  that  none  of  them  could 
speak  neither  at  that  time,  nor  during  the  assizes  until  the 
conviction  of  the  supposed  witches.  Elizabeth  Pacy,  eleven 
years  of  age,  one  of  the  afflicted,  was  brought  into  court  at 
the  time  of  the  framing  of  the  indictment  and  afterwards 
at  the  trial  of  the  prisoners,  but  could  not  speak  one  word 
all  the  time,  and  for  the  most  part  she  remained  as  one 
wholly  senseless,  as  one  in  a  deep  sleep,  and  could  move 
no  part  of  her  body,  and  all  the  motion  of  life  that  ap¬ 
peared  in  her  was,  that  as  she  lay  upon  cushions  in  the 
court  upon  her  back,  her  stomache  and  belly,  by  the  draw¬ 
ing  of  her  breath,  would  arise  to  a  great  height;  and  after 
the  said  Elizabeth  had  lain  a  long  time  on  the  table  in  the 
court,  she  came  to  a  little  herself  and  sat  up,  but  could 
neither  see  nor  speak,  but  was  sensible  of  what  was  said  to 
her,  and  after  a  while  she  laid  her  head  on  the  bar  of  the 
court  with  a  cushion  under  it,  and  her  hand  and  her  apron 
upon  that,  and  there  she  lay  a  good  space  of  time :  and  by 
the  direction  of  the  judge  Amy  Duny  was  privately  brought 
to  Elizabeth  Pacy,  and  she  touched  her  hand ;  whereupon 
the  child  without  so  much  as  seeing  her  for  her  eyes  were 
closed  all  the  while,  suddenly  leaped  up,  and  catched  Amy 
Duny  by  the  hand,  and  afterwards  by  the  face ;  and  with 
her  nails  scratched  her  till  the  blood  came  and  would  by  no 
means  leave  her  till  she  was  taken  from  her. 

Deborah  was  held  in  such  extreme  agony  that  her  parents 
wholly  dispaired  of  her  life,  and  therefore  could  not  bring 
her  to  the  assizes.  Samuel  Pacy,  the  father,  testified  that 
Deborah  was  suddenly  taken  with  lameness  in  one  leg. 
The  same  day  Amy  Duny  came  to  the  house  to  buy  some 
herrings.  She  came  three  times  and  was  denied  three 
times,  and  the  last  time  went  away  grumbling.  At  the 
same  instant  Deborah  was  taken  with  violent  fits,  feeling 
most  extreme  pain  in  her  stomache,  like  the  pricking  of 
pins,  and  shrieking  out  in  a  most  dreadful  manner  like  unto 


262 


APPENDIX. 


a  whelp.  She  continued  in  this  extremity  from  Oct.  10  to 
the  30th  of  the  same  month.  The  child  cried  out  against 
Amy  Duny  as  the  cause  of  her  malady.  Soon  the  other 
child  was  taken,  then  both  cried  out,  “  There  stands  Amy 
Duny,  and  the  Rose  Cullender.”  They  continued  thus  for 
two  months.  The  father  in  the  intervals  caused  them  to 
read  in  the  New  Testament,  and  when  they  would  come  to 
the  name  of  Lord,  or  Jesus,  or  Christ,  and  then  before  they 
could  pronounce  either  of  said  words  they  would  suddenly 
fall  into  their  fits.  But  when  they  would  come  to  the  name 
Satan,  or  devil,  they  would  clap  their  fingers  upon  the 
book,  crying  out,  ”  This  bites  hut  makes  me  speak  quite 
well.” 

Margaret  Arnold,  Pacy’s  sister,  testified  that  her  brother 
brought  the  children  to  her  as  she  lived  in  Yarmouth  She 
did  not  believe  the  children  vomited  pins  hut  that  they  were 
playing  tricks,  so  she  took  all  the  pins  out  of  their  clothes  and 
sewed  them  on,  yet  they  afterwards  raised  at  several  times 
at  least  30  pins  in  her  presence.  At  times  the  young  child 
went  to  the  door  when  something  which  looked  like  a  bee 
flew  at  her  mouth.  She  ran  into  the  house  and  fell  into  a 
fit,  vomiting  up  a  two-penny  nail  with  a  broad  head.  The 
child  said  the  bee  brought  the  nail  and  forced  it  into  her 
mouth.  The  elder  child  at  times  declared  that  flies  came 
to  her  and  brought  pins  and  afterwards  she  raised  several 
pins. 

Dianna  Becking  deposed,  that  her  daughter  had  fits  and 
she  was  taken  with  pains  in  her  stomache,  like  pricking 
with  pins ;  and  afterwards  fell  into  swooning  fits,  taking 
little  or  no  food  and  daily  vomiting  crooked  pins,  “  and  up¬ 
on  Sunday  last  raised  seven  pins."  These  pins  and  also  a 
lathe  nail  were  produced  in  court.  Mary  Chandler,  mother 
of  Susan  Chandler,  another  of  the  afflicted,  testified  to 
searching  the  body  of  Rose  Cullender  and  finding  various 
excrescenses  of  flesh  and  other  things  not  proper  to  mention 
here.  She  also  testified  that  her  daughter  had  terrible  fits 
and  vomited  up  crooked  pins,  all  of  which  mother  and 
daughter  attributed  to  Rose  Cullender.  The  girl  was  im¬ 
mediately  brought  into  court  and  immediately  struck  dumb, 
crying  out,  ”  burn  her,”  “  burn  her.” 


APPENDIX. 


263 


At  the  hearing,  continues  the  report,  there  were  divers 
known  persons  as  Mr.  Serjeant  Kneeling,  Mr.  Serjeant 
Earl,  and  Mr.  Serjeant  Barnard  present.  Serjeant  Kneeling 
seemed  dissatisfied  with  the  evidence ;  and  thought  it  not 
sufficient  to  convict  the  prisoners :  for  admitting  that  the 
children  were  in  truth  bewitched,  yet,  said  he,  it  can  never 
he  applied  to  the  prisoners,  upon  the  imagination  only  of 
the  parties  affiicted;  for  if  that  might  he  allowed,  no  per¬ 
son  whatsoever  can  be  in  safety,  for  perhaps  they  might 
fancy  another  person,  who  might  altogether  he  innocent  in 
such  matters.  Dr.  Brown  of  Norwich,  “  a  person  of  great 
knowledge,  who  after  this  evidence  given  and  upon  view  of 
the  three  persons  in  court,  was  desired  to  give  his  opinion, 
what  he  did  concieve  of  them ;  and  he  was  clearly  of  opin¬ 
ion  that  the  persons  were  bewitched :  and  said  that  in  Den¬ 
mark  there  had  been  lately  a  great  discovery  of  witches, 
who  used  the  very  same  way  of  affiicting  persons,  by  con¬ 
veying  pins  into  them,  and  crooked  as  these  pins  were,  with 
needles  and  nails.  And  his  opinion  was  that  the  devil  in 
such  cases  did  work  upon  the  bodies  of  men  and  women, 
upon  a  natural  foundation  (that  is)  to  stir  up,  and  excite 
such  super-abounding  in  their  bodies  to  a  great  excess 
whereby  he  did  in  an  extraordinary  manner  affiict  them 
with  such  distempers  as  their  bodies  were  most  subject  to 
as  particularly  appeared  in  these  children,  for  he  conceived 
that  these  swooning  fits  were  natural,  and  nothing  else  but 
that  they  call  the  mother,  but  only  heightened  to  a  great 
excess  by  the  subtilty  of  the  devil,  cooperating  with  the 
malice  of  these  which  we  term  witches,  at  whose  instance 
he  doth  these  villainies.” 

At  first  during  the  trial,  there  were  some  experiments 
made  with  the  persons  affiicted  by  bringing  the  persons  to 
touch  them;  and  it  was  observed,  that  when  they  were  in 
the  midst  of  their  fits,  to  all  men’s  apprehension  wholly 
deprived  of  all  sense  and  understanding,  closing  their  fists 
in  such  manner,  as  that  the  strongest  man  in  court  could 
not  force  them  open ;  yet  by  the  least  touch  of  one  of  these 
supposed  witches,  Rose  Cullender  by  name,  they  would 
suddenly  shriek  out  opening  their  hands,  which  accident 


264 


APPENDIX. 


would  not  happen  by  the  touch  of  any  other  person.  There 
was  what  the  report  calls,  “  an  ingenious  person,”  who 
thought  there  might  he  great  fallacy  in  the  experiment  and 
that  the  children  might  counterfeit  their  distemper.  There¬ 
upon  Lord  Conwallis,  Sir  Edmund  Bacon  and  Mr.  Serjeant 
Kneeling  retired  to  the  further  end  of  the  hall  while  one 
of  the  distempered  was  here  in  her  fits.  Amy  Duny  was 
conveyed  from  the  bar  and  brought  to  the  maid ;  they  put 
an  apron  before  her  eyes,  and  then  another  person  touched 
her  hand,  which  produced  the  same  effect  as  the  touch  of 
the  witch  did  in  court.  Whereupon  the  gentlemen  re¬ 
turned,  openly  protesting,  that  they  did  believe  the  whole 
transaction  of  this  business  was  a  mere  imposture.^ 

This  put  the  court  and  all  persons  into  a  stand.  But  at 
length  Mr.  Pacy  declared  that  possibly  the  maid  might  be 
deceived  by  a  suspicion  that  the  witch  touched  her  when 
she  did  not.  When  his  daughter  recovered  she  confirmed 
this  and  said  that  while  she  had  been  unable  to  speak,  she 
heard  and  understood  all  that  was  going  on  in  the  court. 
This  was  looked  upon  as  a  confirmation  of  the  experiment 
and  that  the  parties  were  bewitched.  It  being  demanded 
of  the  prisoners  what  they  had  to  say  for  themselves,  they 
replied,  nothing  material  to  anything  that  was  proved 
against  them.  Whereupon,  continues  the  account,  the 
judge  in  giving  his  direction  to  the  jury  told  them,  that 
he  would  not  repeat  the  evidence  unto  them,  lest  by 
so  doing  he  should  wrong  the  evidence  on  the  one  side  or 
the  other.  Only  this  acquainted  them,  that  they  had  two 
things  to  enquire  after.  First,  whether  or  no  these  children 
were  bewitched?  Secondly,  whether  or  no  the  prisoners  at 
the  bar  were  guilty  of  it?  That  there  were  such  creatures 
as  witches  he  made  no  doubt  at  all ;  For  first,  the  scriptures 
had  affirmed  so  much.  Secondly,  the  wisdom  of  all  nations 
had  provided  laws  against  such  persons,  which  is  an  argu¬ 
ment  of  their  confidence  of  such  crime.  And  such  hath 
been  the  judgment  of  this  kingdom,  as  appears  by  that  act 
of  parliament  which  hath  provided  punishments  propor- 

1  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  trials  in  Salem  the  touch 
of  the  witch  on  the  afflicted  restored  them  to  their  senses. 


APPENDIX. 


265 


tionable  to  the  quality  of  the  offence.  And  desired  them, 
strictly  to  observe  their  evidence ;  and  desired  the  great 
God  of  heaven  to  direct  their  hearts  in  this  weighty  thing 
they  had  in  hand :  For  to  condemn  the  innocent,  and  to  let 
the  guilty  go  free,  were  both  an  abomination  to  the  Lord. 

With  this  short  direction  the  jury  retired  and  within  half 
an  hour  returned  with  a  verdict  of  guilty  on  the  thirteen 
indictments.  This  was  upon  Thursday  afternoon,  March 
13,  1665.  The  next  morning  the  three  children  with  their 
parents  came  to  the  Lord  Chief  Baron  Hale’s  lodgings,  who 
all  of  them  spake  perfectly,  and  were  in  as  good  health  as 
ever  they  were.  Mr.  Pacy  declared  that  they  were  all  re¬ 
covered  within  a  half  hour  after  the  witches  were  coo- 
victed. 

In  conclusion  the  judge  and  all  the  court  were  fully  satis¬ 
fied  with  the  verdict,  and  therefore  gave  judgement  against 
the  witches  that  they  should  be  hanged.  They  were  much 
urged  to  confess,  but  would  not.  That  morning  we  departed 
for  Cambridge,  but  no  reprieve  was  granted;  and  they 
were  executed  on  Monday  the  17th  of  March  following,  but 
they  confessed  nothing. 

In  1716,  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  last  witch 
was  hung  in  New  England,  a  Mrs.  Hicks  and  her  daughter 
aged  nine  years  were  hanged  in  Huntingdon  for  selling 
their  souls  to  the  devil,  tormenting  and  destroying  the 
neighbors  and  causing  them  to  vomit  pins,  and  raising  a 
storm  so  that  ships  were  almost  lost  by  pulling  off  her 
stockings  and  making  a  lather  with  soap.  Arnot  says  the 
last  execution  for  witchcraft  in  Scotland  was  in  1722,  when 
a  woman  was  brought  to  the  stake.  Other  writers  say  that 
the  last  execution  in  the  south  of  Scotland  was  in  1696, 
when,  among  others,  a  handsome  young  woman  suffered ; 
and  the  last  instance  in  the  north  of  Scotland  was  in  1729. 
The  statute  against  witchcraft  was  repealed  in  England  by 
9th  Geo.,  2,  in  1736. 


Index 


Abbey,  Samuel  55. 

Abbott,  Benj.  185,  255. 
“  Nehemiah,  2234, 
244,  254. 

»  N.,  jr,  255. 

Addington,  Isaac,  170,  257. 
Alden,  John,  230-1,  255. 

Alford,  Wm.,  20. 

Allen,  Rev.  James,  113,  176. 
Amesbury,  190, 254. 

Andover,  87,  91,  205,  254. 
Andrews,  D.  255. 

Andrews,  M.,  255. 

Andros,  Sir  Edmund,  20,  28, 

70. 

Antimonian  Views,  19. 
Appleton,  Samuel,  170. 
Arnold,  Margaret,  262. 
Bacon,  Sir  Edmund,  264. 
Ballard,  Joseph  205,  Mrs. 206. 
Bailey,  John  173. 

Bailey,  Rev.  Mr.,  176. 

Barnard,  Rev.  Thomas,  206. 
Barry,  Wm.,  254. 

Bassett,  Sarah ,  255. 

Batch  el  der,  Jno. ,  62. 

Batten,  Wm.  ,  61. 

Battis,  Wm.,  63. 

Bayley,  Rev.  James,  1.31. 
Beach,  Rev.,  35. 

Beadle  Tavern,  74,  160,  180, 
194,  197. 

Becking,  Hannah,  262. 

Bellingham,  Dept.  Gov.,  36, 
Benom,  Mrs.,  89. 

Bently,  Dr.  Wm.,  216. 

Best,  John,  sen.,  199,  jr.  199. 
Beverly,  15,  222,  254. 


Bibber,  Sarah,  204,  2.55. 
Billerica  255. 

Bishop,  Bridget,  72,  77,  80, 
148-158,  226,  254,  255. 
“  Edward,  148,  255. 

“  Hannah,  148. 

“  Sarah,  255. 

“  Townsend,  20,  111. 

Black,  Mary,  255. 

Blackstone,  25,  26,  106. 
Bly,  John,  155. 

Bodily  presence,  105,  218. 
Boston,  16,  43,  44,  87,  255, 
“  jail,  60, 67, 68. 
Book,  the  devil’s,  27,  61,  202 
Booth,  Eliz.,  172,  200,  244. 
Boxford,  198,  207,  255. 
Bradstreet,  Dudley  and  wife 
206. 

“  John  (Andover), 
206,  254. 

“  John  (of  Rowley), 

“  Simon,  Gov.,  41,  236. 
Bradbury,  Mary  Perkins,  85, 
210-14,  255. 

Bridges,  Sarah,  254. 

Broomsticks,  27, 61. 

Brown,  Dr. ,  263. 

Browne,  John  and  Samuel, 
14,  19. 

Brown,  Sir  Thomas,  24. 
Buckley,  Sarah,  179, 232, 233, 
254,  255. 

Buffum,  Caleb,  77. 

Buffinton,  Thos.,  63. 

Bullock,  Jno.,  198. 

Burial  of  witches,  77. 


268 


INDEX 


Burroughs,  Rev.  Geo.,  48, 61, 
80,  84,  131-147,  165, 

199,  218,  240,  243,  254-6. 
Burroughs,  Mrs.  Geo.,  134. 
Buxton,  John,  2(k,  255. 
Calef,  Rob’t,  quoted  from, 
43,  48,  54,  68,  95,  107, 
156,  240. 


Cambridge,  230. 

Candy,  255. 

Cape  Ann,  10. 

Carey,  Jonathan  and  wife, 
227,  230,  254-6. 

Carr,  George,  211. 

“  James,  211. 

“  Mary,  132. 

“  Richard,  212,  244. 
“  William,  213. 

Carrier,  Andrew,  185. 

“  Martha,  85,  146,  182, 
184-6,  205,  264-6. 

“  Richard,  185. 

“  Sarah,  185. 

Carter,  Bethia,  255. 

Casco,  Me.,  134. 

Cats,  27,  68,  185. 

Cave,  Sarah,  254. 

Charlestown,  15,  44,  87,  255. 
Charter,  70. 

Charter  Street  Cemetery,  41. 
Cheever,  Ezekiel,  57,  98,  147. 

“  Samuel,  233. 

Chekley,  Anthony,  73. 
Chelmsford,  256. 

Chickering,  Henry,  111. 
Chilburn,  Johanna,  61. 
Children  in  witchcraft,  48, 


209,  243. 

Churchill,  Sarah,  46,  160-2. 
Church  of  England,  9,  10. 
Cleeves,  William,  108. 

Clinton,  Rachel,  255. 

Cloyse,  Sarah,  169,  171,  193, 
194,  195,  196,  255. 
Coffin,  Mary,  255. 

Cole,  Ann,  37.  Sarah,  255 
Colson,  Eliz.,  255. 

Commissioners  of  Oyer  and 
Terminer,  70. 

Conant,  Roger,  10,  19. 

Conwallis,  Lord,  264. 


Cook,  John,  156. 

Corey,  Giles,  89,  97-110,  144^ 
168,  254-6. 

“  Martha,  85, 97-110^ 
225,  244,  254-5. 

Corwiu,  George,  73. 

“  Jonathan,  16,  53,  72,. 
74,  101,  170,  198,  228, 
231. 

Court. 

Assistants,  246. 

Established  in  1692,  86. 

General,  33,  35,  70.  82,  86, 
114,  115, 132,  248,  256. 
Oyer  and  Terminer,  77-87, 
91, 92-4, 150,  246,  258-9. 


Sessions  in  1693,  87. 

Special  assizes,  86,  236. 
“  or  Superior,  91,  259. 
Crowninshield,  B.  W.,  193. 
Cullender,  Rose,  260-5. 
Dane,  Deliverance,  206,  254. 
“  Rev.  Francis,  206. 
“  Nathan,  254. 

Danforth,  87,  170. 

Danvers,  15. 

Delius,  Godfrey,  95. 

Demonology,  22. 

Derich,  John,  105. 

Derick,  Mary,  255. 

Derrill,  Mary,  255. 

Dodd,  Sarah,  203. 

Dog  bewitched,  206. 

Dolliver,  Ann,  255. 

Drake,  69. 

Dudley,  Joseph,  72,  257. 

Dudley,  of  N.  Y.,  95. 

Duny,  Amy,  260-5. 

Dustin,  Good,  61.  Sarah  and 
Lydia,  255. 


Eames,  Rebecca,  28,  85,  231, 
254-6. 


“  Robert,  231,255. 

Eastey,  Isaac,  116,  193. 

Mary,  85,  116,  193-6, 
254-6. 


Elliott,  Daniel,  174. 

Endicott,  C.  M.  164. 

“  John,  10, 15,  16,  19, 
35,  111,  236,  John  jr., 
113. 


INDEX. 


269 


Endicott,  Samuel,  213, 
“  Zerubabel,  114, 172, 
212,  232. 

England,  70-72. 

English,  Phillip  and  Mary, 
216-17,  255. 

“  Phillip’s  house,  215. 
“  precedents,  73, 239, 
247,  260-5. 

Essex  County,  38,  87,  249. 

Evidence,  spectral,  92,  105, 
230,  236,  238,  241,  247. 

Fairfax,  Edward,  24. 

Falmouth,  Me  ,  143. 

Fast  Day,  44,  49,  248,  251. 

Faulkner,  Abagail,  85,  206, 
254-6. 

Felton,  Nathaniel,  175. 

First  Church,  Boston,  113. 

“  “  Salem,  12,  13, 

19,  74,  128,  233,  249. 

“  Church,  Salem,  cove¬ 


nant  of,  13. 

Fiske,  Thomas,  128. 

Foster,  Ann,  85,  89,  206,  254-6 
“  Constable,  208. 

Freemen,  91. 

Fuller,  Benjamin,  181. 
“  John,  172. 

“  Thomas,  179,  183. 

Gadge,  Sarah,  55-6. 

Gallows  Hill,  41,76-7,146, 231. 
Gardner,  Captain,  107. 

Gedney,  Bartholomew,  72, 
198,  231. 

Gloucester,  255. 

Glover,  Mrs.  Mary,  43,  72. 
Gloyd,  John,  168. 

Godfrey,  John,  36. 

Good,  Dorcas,  64,  255. 

“  Sarah,  50-2-3,  54-60,  65, 
84,  144,  254-6. 

“  William,  54. 

Goodell,  A.  C.,  74,  256. 

“  Jacob,  109. 

Goodwin  family,  43,  242. 

Gray,  Samuel,  149. 

“  William,  20. 

Green,  Rev.  Joseph,  250. 
Green,  Mary,  255. 

Greenslit,  Thomas,  142,  199. 


Greensmiths,  The,  36. 

Griggs,  Dr.,  46,  48. 

Groton,  Mass.,  37. 

Haines,  Thomas,  house,  201. 
Hale,  Rev.  John,  18,  39,  41, 
147,  152,  229,  243,  248. 

“  Mrs.  90. 

“  Sir  Matthew,  24,  260-5. 
Harrington,  254. 


Hathorne,  John,  16,  53,  59, 
72,  100,  101,  170,  194, 

198,  221,  222,  228,  229, 

231. 

Harvard  College,  16,  132. 
Harwood,  John,  121. 

Haverhill,  255. 

Herrick,  Marshal  George,  73, 
116,  162,  204,  210. 

“  Henry,  62. 

Hibhins,  Ann,  34-5. 

Higginson,  Rev.  Francis,  11, 
12,  15. 

“  John,  198. 

“  Rev.  John,  233. 

Hoar,  Dorcas,  85,  222-3,  254, 
256. 

Hobbs,  Abagail,  61,  85,  105, 
144,  217-22,  254-6. 

“  Deliverance,  61,  144, 
217-22,  255. 

“  William,  204,  217-22, 

Holland^^^’  12. 

Holt,  Ch.  J.,  24. 

Holten,  Benj.,  Sarah,  121, 

122. 

Holyoke,  Rev.  Dr.,  76. 
House  of  deputies,  41. 

Howe,  Elizabeth,  84, 186-9, 
254-6. 

“  James’,  186, 188,  255. 
“  Capt.  John,  188. 
Hubbard,  Elizabeth,  46,  57, 
60,  62-3,  119-20-21,  139, 
150,  200,  202,  222,  244. 
Hutchinson,  Ann,  19. 

“  Benjamin,  143, 

194,  233. 

“  Elisha,  137. 

“  Gov.  qtxoted 

from  30,  43,  79,  80,  85. 


270 


INDEX. 


Hutchinson,  John,  150. 

“  Joseph,  53. 

Indian,  John,  49,  169,  170, 
191,  202,  255. 

Tngersoll,  Lieut.  Nathaniel, 
53,  116,  169. 

“  Sarah,  162. 

Ingersoll’s  Tavern,  74,  182, 

.  200,  222. 

Intolerance  of  Puritans,  19. 
Ipswich,  34,  40,  54,  67,  87, 
115,  233. 

Jacobs  family,  158-67,  255. 
Jacobs,  George,  Sr.,  48,  85, 
146,  254,  256. 

Jailors’  fees,  234. 

Jails. 

Boston,  223,  230. 

Ipswich,  54,  67,  223. 

Salem,  74. 

Jones,  Margaret,  31-2, 

Johnson,  Elizabeth,  Jr.,  87, 
206,  207,  254,  257. 

“  Sarah,  207. 

“  Stenh"':.,  254. 

Tm-''::,  91,  236,  249. 

Jury,  grand,  80-82. 

Kenney,  Henry,  117. 

Kemble,  John,  192. 

Knapp,  Elizabeth,  37. 

Kneeling,  Serg’t,  263-4. 
Knife  blade,  64. 

Lacey,  Mary,  85,  207,  254-6. 
Lane,  Francis,  188. 

Lander,  John,  154. 

Laundry,  John,  254. 

Lawrence,  Mary,  •  218. 

Lawson,  Rev.  Deodat,  133, 
178. 

Lawyers,  73. 

Lewis,  John,  150. 

“  Mercy,  46,  48,  63,  65, 
139,  140,  141,  150,  169, 
170,  172,  179,  194,  200, 
202,  221,  224,  244. 
Locker,  Constable  George, 
57. 

Lord’s  Prayer,  146,  228,  240. 
Lyford,  John,  10. 

Lynn,  177,  255. 

Malden,  255. 


Manchester,  15. 

Marblehead,  15,  199,  255. 
Marshfield.  Widow,  33. 
Marston,  Mary,  254. 

Martin,  Susannah,  84, 190-93, 
254. 

Massachusetts  Bay,  •  10. 

Mather,  Cotton,  16,  43,  72, 
82,  87,  95,  135,  136,  146, 
239-43. 


Mather,  Increase,  16,  35,  36, 
135,  176,  240,  269. 
Maverick,  Widow,  211. 

Merrill,  Sarah,  254. 

Middleton,  15,  116. 

Ministers,  their  answer,  82. 
‘  Dutch,  95. 

“  of  Essex  County,  249 
Moody,  Lad-  Deborah,  20. 

“  Rev.  176. 

Moore,  Geo.  H.,  256. 


More,  Dr.  24. 

Morey,  Sarah,  254. 

Morse,  William,  38,  40. 

Morse,  Mrs.,  41. 

Moulton,  John,  108. 

Moxon  children,  33. 

Nantasket,  10. 

Naumkeag,  10. 

Neal,  Jos..  159. 

Nelson,  Phillip,  203. 

Newbury,  38,  41,  115,  191. 
Newburyport,  38. 

New  England,  10,  236. 

Newton,  Thomas,  73,  80. 

Nichols,  Elizabeth,  219. 

“  John,  221. 

“  Lydia,  219. 

North  Beverly,  148. 

Northend,  92. 

Norton,  John,  35. 

Nottingham,  Earl  of,  259. 

Noyes,  N.  Rev.,  16,  18,  65, 

85,  101,  147,  162,  243. 
Nurse  family,  113. 

“  Francis,  111. 

“  Rebecca,  79,  84,  111-130, 
150,  169,  193,  238,  254. 

“  Samuel,  116. 

Oliver.  Thos.,  148. 

Osburn,  Alex.,  65. 


INDEX 


271 


Osburn,  Sarah,  50,  52,  53,  59, 
61,  65-68,  89,  255,  257. 
Osgood,  Mary,  206,  254 
Pacy,  Eliz.  and  Samuel,  261. 
Parris,  Eliz.,  46,  51,  56,  62-3, 
119  236. 

“  Rev.  Samuel,  16, 18,  25, 
46,  48.  49,  50,  57,  101, 
103,  117,  134,  171,  224, 
225,  227,  237,  238, 

243. 

Parker,  Alice,  196,  254,  255. 
“  John,  196 

“  Mary,  85, 196,  198, 
205,  254,  256. 

Parsons,  Mary,  33. 

“  Hugh,  33. 

Partridge,  Jno.,  137. 

Payne,  Elizabeth,  255. 

Pay  son,  Rev.  189. 

Peabody,  town,  15. 

Peach,  Barnard,  192. 

Pease,  Sarah,  255. 

Peirce,  T.  W.,  193. 

Perkins,  Wm.,  25. 

Perley,  Deborah,  187. 

“  John,  188. 

“  Timothy,  187. 

Phillips,  Sam’l,  189. 

Phips,  Sir  Wm,,  20,  29,  41, 
70,  71,  73,  87,  92-6,  150, 
177,  207,  242,  257. 
Pietrus,  Peter,  95. 

Pickworth,  Sam’l  199. 

Pins,  witch,  49,  63,  231,  262. 
Pitman,  Charity,  203, 

Plymouth,  10,  12. 

Pope,  Mrs.  103. 

Poppits,  153. 

Portland,  Me.,  132. 

Post,  Mary,  87, 254,  256. 
Powell,  Caleb,  39,  40. 

Preston,  Rebecca,  124. 

“  Thomas,  53,  116,  238. 
Prince,  Robert,  65. 

Prime,  Martha,  255. 

Proclamation,  freedom,  87- 
94. 

Procter  Benj.  and  Wm.,  255. 
Procter,  Eliz.,  85,  168,  177, 
254-6. 


it 

(i 


Procter,  John,  84,  105, 110, 
146,  168-177,  225,  243, 
254,  256. 

Protests,  against  trials,  91. 
Pudeator,  Ann,  85,  196, 198-9 
254,  255. 

“  Jacob,  198. 

Puritans,  9. 

Putnam,  Allen,  37,  54. 

“  Ann,  46,  57,  60,  62, 

63,  65,  98,  100,  108,  109, 
116,  117,  120,  139,  140, 
141,  145,  150,  169,  170, 
190,  194,  202,  205,  224, 
236,  244,  246,  250. 

“  Mrs.  Ann,  116,  117, 

122,  180-2,  211, 213, 244, 
246. 

“  Edward,  53,  98,  100, 
116,  122,  238. 

“  John,  115,  133,  179, 
194,  205. 

John  3rd,  220. 

Joseph,  236. 

Nathaniel,  103,  114, 

132,  159. 

“  Serg’t  Thos.,  46,  53, 
68,  108,  116,  117,  132, 

133,  141,  204,  211,  238, 
246. 

Putnams,  The,  16. 

Reading,  256. 

Reed,  Sami.,  199. 

Reed,  Wilmot,  85,  196,  199- 
203,  254,  255. 

Reimbursed  heirs,  248,  256. 
Repentance  of  accusers,  etc., 
248-255. 

Rice,  Rev.  C.  B.,  23. 

Rice,  Sarah,  255. 

Rich,  Mary,  255. 

Richards,  John,  72,  87,  136, 
241. 

Riels,  Mary  de,  255. 

Riste,  Sarah,  254. 

Roote,  Susannah,  254. 

Rowley,  34,  87,  203,  265. 
Rule,  Margaret,  87-88. 

Saco,  Me.,  143. 

Salem,  9, 12,  14, 15,  16,  41, 44, 
87,  89, 115,  216,  236,  265. 


272 


INDEX 


Salem  Village,  43,  45,  46,  52, 


53,  74, 115, 131, 133, 173, 
204,  236,  255. 

Salem  Village  Church,  131. 
Salisbury,  210,  255. 

Saltonstall,  Nathaniel,  72. 

“  Richard,  15. 
Sargent,  Peter,  72. 

Scott,  Margaret,  85,  196,  203, 
254,  255. 

Scottow,  John,  35. 

Sewall,  Judge  Sam.,  72,  87, 
108,  110,  13«,  170,  223, 
241  251 

“  Stephen,  79,257. 
Selpins,  Henry,  95. 

Shapling,  L.,  172. 

Shattuck,  Sam.,  154, 198,  245. 
Shaw,  Deborah,  61. 

Shaw,  Elizabeth,  172. 

“  William,  61. 

Sheldon,  Johanna,  122. 
Sheldon,  Samuel,  145,  245. 
“  Susan,  61,  62,  139, 
182,  184,  2(  2,  244. 
Shepard,  Rebecca,  121. 
Sherwood,  Grace,  45. 

Shilleto,  Robert,  203. 

Sims,  Rev.  Mr.,  147. 

Sibley,  Sam.,  62. 

Skelton,  Rev.  Sam.,  11,  12, 
15. 

Small,  Thos.,  65. 

Smith,  Jas.,  200. 

Somes,  Abagail,  255. 

South  Carolina,  45. 

Sparks,  Martha,  255. 

Sprague,  Martha,  198,  207. 


Spiritualism,  22. 

Springfield,  33. 

Stacey,  William,  151. 

Stiles,  John,  38. 


Stone,  Robt.  Sr.,  Robt.  Jr., 
172  173. 

Stoughton,  Wm.,  71,  87,  92, 
93, 138,  247-8,  259,  260. 
Swan,  Tim.,  185. 

Symonds,  John,  76. 

Syms,  Mrs.,  203. 

Tarbell,  John,  Mary,  123, 
124. 

Tavern,  Beadle’s^  160,  180. 

“  Ingersoll’s,  53. 
Taylor,  Treas.,  257. 

Tituba,  46,  49,  51,  52,  53,  60, 
68-9,  119,  223,  255. 
Toothaker,  Jason,  Mary, 
Roger,  255. 

'  Topsfield,  15, 193,  204. 

“  controversy,  114- 
16,  255. 

Tortures,  176. 

Townes,  John  J.  Jr.,  115-16. 

“  Jos.,  221. 

Trask,  Christian,  John,  162- 

3. 

Trials  by  Jury,  77-87,  136. 
“  preliminary,  74-246. 


Tukey,  Job,  264. 

Tyler,  Hannah,  Hope,  Jo¬ 
hanna,  Martha,  254. 
Upham,  54 

Varich,  Rudolph,  95. 

Vibber,  Sarah,  John,  60,  62, 
63,  121. 

Virginia,  45. 


ERRATA. 


On  page  186,  John  How  should  read  James  How. 


INDEX. 


273 


Walcott,  John,  169. 

“  Mary,  61,  65,  120-1, 
139, 149,  150,  160,  169, 
170-2,  179,  200,  202, 

99,1  9*^^  9d4. 

Wardwell,  Mary,  ’  198,  256. 
“  Samuel,  20, 85,  87, 
205-9,  254,  256. 

“  Sarah,  87, 254. 
Warren,  Mary,  61,  105,  172, 
202,  225-7,  244,  255. 


Wasslehee, - ,  148. 

Water  ordeal,  45. 

Waterman,  Richard,  20. 

Way,  Aaron,  119. 

Webber,  Samuel,  142. 

Wells,  Me.,  137,  255. 

Wenham,  15. 

Wendall,  Barrett,  84. 

Westgate,  Jonathan,  197, 245. 

Wheelwright, - ,  211. 

White, - ,  Mrs.,  255. 

Whiting,  John,  36. 

Whitridge,  Mary,  232-33,255. 
Wildes,  Ephraim,  204. 

“  John,  204. 


“  Sarah,  84,  196,  204, 
254-6. 

Willard,  John,  80,  146,  172, 
177,  183,  194,  243, 
254,  255,  256. 

“  Rev.  Samuel,  16, 

37,  176. 

“  Simon,  143. 

Wilkins,  Bray,  132,  178; 

Henry,  178;  Daniel, 
178,  179. 


Winthrop,  John,  14,  15,  16> 
31-2,  236. 

“  Wait,  72, 87. 
Williams,  Abigail,  46,  51, 57, 
62,  116,  119-21, 

143,  150,  169-70, 
190,  194,  202,  221, 
223,  236,  244. 


“  Henry,  154. 

“  Roger,  19. 

Williams  House,  74. 

Wilson,  Sarah,  jr.  254. 


Witchcraft,  Biblical,  22-3; 
defined,  26;  early  cases 
of,  22;  punishment  for, 
27-30;  laws  against,  28, 
29,  90 ;  outbreak  in  Salem 
Village,  46-69 ;  first  war¬ 
rant  in  1692,  53,  56 ;  first 
examination,  53;  in  Bos¬ 
ton,  34,  43 :  Charlestown, 
31 ;  Connecticut,  89 ;  Eng¬ 
land,  23-4 ;  Essex  County, 
36 ;  Geneva,  23 ;  Georgia, 
23;  Hartford,  Conn.,  36; 
Massachusetts,  23;  New¬ 
bury,  38;  Northampton, 
89;  Russia,  22;  Scotland, 
24 ;  South  Carolina,  45 ; 


Springfield,  30,  31 ;  Vir¬ 
ginia,  45. 

Witch  Hill,  41. 

Witch-mark,  45,  124,  145, 

162-3,  262. 

Woburn,  255. 

Woodwell,  Elizabeth,  104. 

Wright,  John,  254. 

Wyman,  Francis,  203. 


«  • 


.1 


7 

. « 

s 

4 

J 

•  .'J 


.V 


l* 


k  ^  %Sr 

■>t£4  =.  -r'' 


‘  '  VA  Ai  Nl  **  W3k^'*^  y^  "v ^  A»  '-»•!?» 

.  r-  >1^-^  ^ ^ 


BF  j.576 


i 


;  iy  0  V  i  n  s  ?  W  i  r  i  f  :i.  0  i  d  S  ^ 


W  i  t  c  h  c  r  a  f  t  i  ri  S  a  1  e  in  v  :i.  1 1 3  s  0 
in  1692 y 


is. 

l  * 

H, 

-u 

t 


^*1 


Boston  College 
Libraries 

Chestnut  HIM,  Mass.  02167 


'1  * 


t 


V* 


U  i  L 


